Washington is not ready for the tsunami of lawsuits and regulatory anarchy that may soon be headed its way.
Any day now, the Supreme Court is expected to release an opinion that could kill or limit the Chevron doctrine. Named after a case from 1984, that doctrine directs judges to defer to a federal agency’s reading of an ambiguous statute so long as it is “reasonable.”
Conservative critics have long maintained Chevron deference unconstitutionally restricts the judiciary’s ability to offer the final say on the law and encourages Congress to abdicate its lawmaking responsibilities by writing vague statutes that leave executive branch officials to deal with the devilish details. Meanwhile, defenders of Chevron deference say it’s perfectly constitutional and allows regulators to quickly adapt to a changing world.
