Regulatory Agencies Suffered Their Latest Blow in Chevron Ruling

And in a 2020 ruling, the five Republican appointees then on the Supreme Court struck down a provision of the law Congress enacted to create the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau that had protected its head from being fired by a president without a good cause, like misconduct.

Karine Jean-Pierre, the White House press secretary, said Friday’s decision was the latest example of the Supreme Court blocking “common-sense rules that keep us safe, protect our health and environment, safeguard our financial system, and support American consumers and workers.”

The court has not always gone as far as libertarians wanted, however. Earlier this term, the court rejected a challenge to the way the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is funded. Striking it down would have opened the door to lawsuits to nullify every regulation and enforcement action it has taken in its 13 years of existence, including ones concerning mortgages, credit cards, consumer loans and banking.

While overturning Chevron is now the capstone victory for the conservative legal movement’s assault on the administrative state, it may not be the end of the story. More extreme opponents of regulation hope the court will someday embrace a sweeping version of the so-called nondelegation doctrine.

Under that vision, the Constitution does not allow Congress to delegate any of its legislative authority to executive branch agencies. If so, all regulations should be struck down because the only way society can impose a legally binding rule on business interests is if Congress manages to specifically enact one via statute.