Administrative-Law

Trump Directs Agencies to Quietly Repeal Regulations Without Public Notice

| Importance: 8/10

President Trump issued a Presidential Memorandum directing federal agencies to review and repeal regulations deemed unlawful based on recent Supreme Court decisions, bypassing normal notice-and-comment procedures. The directive allows agencies to use the ‘good cause’ exception in the …

Donald Trump Trump Administration Lee Zeldin Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs kleptocracy trump-administration deregulation administrative-law regulatory-capture
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SCOTUS overrules Chevron deference (Loper Bright v. Raimondo)

| Importance: 8/10

In a 6-3 decision, the Supreme Court overturned Chevron deference, eliminating the long-standing doctrine that required courts to defer to federal agencies’ reasonable interpretations of ambiguous statutes. This landmark ruling fundamentally reshapes administrative law, requiring courts to …

Supreme Court of the United States Chief Justice John Roberts National Marine Fisheries Service administrative-law chevron courts supreme-court judicial-reform
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SCOTUS stays EPA 'Good Neighbor Plan' for cross-state smog program

| Importance: 6/10

The Supreme Court granted a 5-4 stay on June 27, 2024, blocking the EPA’s Good Neighbor Plan addressing interstate ozone pollution while litigation proceeds. Justice Gorsuch’s majority opinion found EPA failed to reasonably explain its methodology after some states left the program. The …

Supreme Court of the United States EPA Justice Neil Gorsuch (majority opinion) Justice Amy Coney Barrett (dissent) State of Ohio (applicant) +2 more administrative-law courts environment clean-air-act good-neighbor-provision +3 more
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SCOTUS limits SEC use of in-house tribunals for civil penalties (SEC v. Jarkesy)

| Importance: 6/10

In a 6-3 decision on June 27, 2024, the Court held the Seventh Amendment requires jury trials when the SEC seeks civil penalties for securities fraud, ending the agency’s use of in-house administrative law judge proceedings for such cases. Chief Justice Roberts’ majority opinion found …

Supreme Court of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission Chief Justice John Roberts (majority opinion) Justice Neil Gorsuch (concurring) Justice Clarence Thomas (concurring) +4 more administrative-law courts enforcement seventh-amendment jury-trial-rights +3 more
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SCOTUS: No standing in challenge to mifepristone changes (FDA v. AHM)

| Importance: 6/10

The Supreme Court unanimously held the plaintiffs lacked Article III standing to challenge FDA’s 2016/2021 actions on mifepristone, leaving the agency’s changes in place. Justice Kavanaugh delivered the opinion, with the Court finding that the Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine failed to …

Supreme Court of the United States Food and Drug Administration administrative-law courts standing supreme-court abortion-rights
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Supreme Court blocks 2020 Census citizenship question as 'contrived'; filings tie rationale to Hofeller partisan plan

| Importance: 10/10

In Department of Commerce v. New York, the Supreme Court held that the Secretary’s stated rationale for adding a Census citizenship question was “contrived” and set aside the decision. Separate court filings introduced the late GOP strategist Thomas Hofeller’s 2015 study and …

U.S. Department of Commerce U.S. Census Bureau Supreme Court of the United States Thomas Hofeller census voting-rights redistricting administrative-law
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Executive Order 13771: Reducing Regulation and Controlling Regulatory Costs

| Importance: 6/10

Trump signed EO 13771 on January 30, 2017, establishing a “two-for-one” rule requiring agencies to eliminate two existing regulations for every new regulation, with zero net cost increase. A November 2017 OIRA report claimed agencies achieved a 22-to-1 deregulatory ratio in eight months, …

Donald Trump Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) Public Citizen (plaintiff) Natural Resources Defense Council (plaintiff) Judge Randolph D. Moss +1 more executive-order regulation deregulation two-for-one-rule regulatory-costs +1 more
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