Supreme Court guts Chevron deference, undermining federal agencies’ ability to protect the public

Consumer Reports calls on Congress to pass law confirming agencies have the discretion needed to protect public health, safety, and fairness in the marketplace 

WASHINGTON, D.C. – A decision issued by the U.S. Supreme Court today will undermine the ability of federal agencies to protect the public on a whole host of issues impacting their health and well-being, according to Consumer Reports (CR). CR is calling on Congress to enact legislation that ensures agencies have the discretion they need to protect public health, safety, and fairness in the marketplace. 

The court’s decision today covering two cases – Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo and Relentless, Inc. v. Department of Commerce – upends a doctrine known as “Chevron deference,” a legal doctrine that has been relied on in over 18,000 judicial decisions since 1984 that courts should defer to a federal agency’s reasonable interpretation of an ambiguous statute.

“Today’s decision by the Supreme Court is anti-consumer, and threatens countless health, safety, environmental, and market safeguards that protect Americans every day,” said Alexandra Grose, senior policy counsel at Consumer Reports. “The Court’s ruling could have far-reaching impacts across the federal government, emboldening corporations to attack sensible rules and leaving it up to individual judges – with their individual policy preferences – to implement the details of laws passed by Congress, rather than entrusting that role to highly trained subject matter experts.

Grose continued, “Congress charged federal agencies with protecting consumers from threats like contaminated food, hazardous products, dirty air and water, and predatory financial schemes. It should act quickly and thoughtfully to pass legislation to ensure federal agencies have the discretion they need. Congress can’t foresee or respond to every eventuality, and it’s critical for agency experts to ensure – consistent with the law – that federal rules reflect the realities of the marketplace and keep up with changing times.”

Congress established agencies such as the Food and Drug Administration, Consumer Product Safety Commission, Environmental Protection Agency, and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to employ non-partisan civil servants as subject matter experts with deep technical and scientific expertise. CR said that the Supreme Court’s decision undermines a critical layer of consumer protection by putting statutory discretion in the hands of judges rather than these subject matter experts.

Michael McCauley, michael.mccauley@consumer.org