As the nation celebrates the 248th birthday of the Declaration of Independence, it is appropriate that the U.S. Supreme Court has restrained a rising administrative state. That's the result of the court's 6-3 decision in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo.
In the decision written by Chief Justice John Roberts , the court overruled the so-called "Chevron Doctrine," by which the judiciary deferred to administrative agencies on interpreting ambiguous statutory language by Congress. Going forward, courts will decide what Congress means when it writes less than straightforward legislation. The courts have expertise in law — administrative agencies do not. Administrative agencies are supposed to implement laws passed by Congress, not make law themselves. Long ago, Chief Justice John Marshall wrote that it is "emphatically" the duty of the courts to say what the law is.
The Roberts Court has reaffirmed the fundamental constitutional principle of separation of powers. Congress writes laws. Under the Administrative Procedure Act of 1946, administrative agencies implement legislation written by Congress.
The APA never gave government agencies the power to make laws or establish how businesses operate. But over time, it became accepted practice by agencies to make new laws according to the politics of the sitting president. As a general rule, Republican presidents directed agencies to be pro-capitalism and to maximize liberty for the people. But beginning with President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Democratic administrations tried to expand the size and scope of government.
Under the Administrations of Presidents Obama and Biden, government has become increasingly left-wing. Administrative agencies tell businesses who to hire. The progressive agenda of diversity, equity and inclusion becomes stitched into the fabric of our lives. But racial quotas are unconstitutional . Americans are free to choose how to conduct their lives. With the overturning of judicial deference, liberty is restored. Liberty is the defining purpose of the nation.
The left-wing media interpret the Loper Bright decision as emasculating the federal government’s power to ensure that our “navigable” waters are clean. The left-wing media say the government no longer has the authority to ensure that the air we breathe is fresh. They say that under the doctrine of Loper Bright, government no longer has the power to address monopolization.
The left-wing media are badly wrong.
What Loper Bright actually means is that the federal government cannot interfere with residential construction if the construction does not affect a navigable waterway. Navigable means a boat can navigate the water. Loper Bright means that the Environmental Protection Agency cannot destroy hundreds of thousands of jobs in the oil, gas, and coal industries without precise legislative language written by Congress. Loper Bright means that people cannot be forced to purchase and drive electric vehicles. Oh, and that vehicle companies cannot be forced to lose billions of dollars building vehicles that people don’t want to buy.
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The true meaning of overturning the Chevron doctrine of judicial deference is a restoration of the constitutional principle of separation of powers. Congress makes laws. The President executes laws made by Congress. The Supreme Court says what the law is. Let the European Union strangle innovation and dynamic capitalism. Let America thrive.
As we celebrate this July 4, let’s cheer the restoration of our Constitution and our liberty.
James Rogan is a former U.S. foreign service officer who later worked in finance and law for 30 years. He writes a daily note on the markets, politics, and society.
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