McKeon Of NJ Blasts Supreme Court’s Chevron Decision: ‘Catastrophic’

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — Should judges defer to experts when they’re ruling on cases involving complicated federal regulations – or is that ball in their court? The choice is clear, according to a New Jersey state senator: leave it to the experts.

On Thursday, Sen. John McKeon (NJ-27) released a statement that criticizes the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent 6-3 decision to overturn the “Chevron Doctrine,” a longstanding legal precedent has that allowed courts to defer to the expertise of federal agencies since the 1980s.

The Chevron Doctrine has been cited in more than 18,000 federal court decisions since then – and has likely influenced many more behind the scenes.

The Supreme Court majority called the practice “fundamentally misguided,” arguing that it is inconsistent with the federal Administrative Procedure Act, which directs courts to “decide legal questions by applying their own judgment.”

Chief Justice John Roberts said the Chevron Doctrine is misguided because although “agencies have no special competence in resolving statutory ambiguities” – courts do.

Advocates across the nation have argued otherwise, alleging that the decision will lead to the weakening of thousands of crucial federal rules impacting the environment, health care, worker protection, food and drug safety, telecommunications and the financial sector.

Critics of the ruling include McKeon, a member of the Senate Environment and Energy Committee, who argued that it will be “disastrous” for the environment and “shows how oblivious the court is to what is happening worldwide.”

“Simply put, climate change is hitting our state hard,” said McKeon, who represents the towns of Livingston, Millburn, Montclair, Roseland and West Orange in Essex County, and Clifton in Passaic County.

“In the decades to come, we will continue to see the devastating effects of prolonged heat waves and worsening storms and floods,” he continued. “By ending this 40-year precedent, the court has set us back further in the fight against climate change and handed victory to the fossil fuel industry. It takes regulatory power away from proven subject matter experts at federal agencies and puts it in the hands of judges who likely have little to no knowledge of the issues at hand.”

“Many of the environmental regulations that we rely on in the fight against climate change are determined by scientists at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, not by statute,” McKeon said. “The overturning of Chevron deference will allow federal judges to strike down regulations on critical low-carbon energy initiatives, such as limits on vehicle emissions or corporate climate disclosures.”

“This decision is nothing short of catastrophic for the health of the American people and our environment,” he concluded.”

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