Washington’s Think Tanks Are Gearing Up for a Legal Assault

A pair of Supreme Court rulings could put decades-old government regulations back on the table for legal challenges — and make them harder to defend.

Supreme Court
J. Scott Applewhite/AP

Two Supreme Court rulings expected next month — one hotly debated and one flying under the radar — could put long-established government regulations back on the table for legal challenges.

Public interest groups warn that the rulings could swamp government agencies with lawsuits and fuel a climate of attacks that “undermine our system of regulation of public health and safety and environmental protection,” Allison Zieve with Public Citizen told NOTUS.

One of the expected rulings could overturn a long-standing precedent of courts deferring to government agency expertise when federal law is ambiguous, called Chevron deference.