You might have heard about a recent court case that will likely overturn what is known as Chevron deference, which holds courts should defer to the interpretation of the executive branch and its regulatory agencies when determining the will of Congressional legislation about regulation (it’s named after the 1984 case of Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council). If Chevron deference falls, and it likely will, this description I found on Bluesky encapsulates what the post-Chevron U.S. administrative state will look like:

I’m excited to live in a world in which the Fifth Circuit manages administrative policy for the nation.

(the Fifth Circuit is the court that restricted the use of mifepristone among many other horrible decisions).

Really, this is about who will regulate the U.S.: experts governed by elected or appointed and confirmed officials, or unaccountable lifetime judicial appointees with no expertise (and often with ‘anti-expertise’)?

I don’t think most people are aware at all just how bad this is going to be, especially with large swathes of the judicial system under the control of radical rightwingers. Businesses, not to mention corrupt Supreme Court justices, are thrilled though…