GOP Launches Major Effort to Curb Federal Agency Power in Wake of Supreme Court Ruling

The new legislation would eliminate the "Chevron doctrine," requiring courts to defer to federal agencies' interpretations of their authority, and establish a new standard of review that would give equal footing to citizens and businesses in court against administrative agencies.

The Supreme Court's recent ruling that stripped authority from federal agencies in legal battles has prompted Senate Republicans to launch a "major" effort to curb even more the power of the "administrative state."

The high court's decision in favor of a group of East Coast fishermen who sued a federal agency over mandatory "at sea monitors" marked a significant blow to the Chevron doctrine, which required courts to defer to agencies' interpretations of their authority.

GOP Launches Major Effort to Curb Federal Agency Power in Wake of Supreme Court Ruling

Senator Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., hailed the ruling as "a critical blow to the disastrous Chevron deference standard." He believes it presents an opportunity for Congress to reclaim legislative power from agencies and dismantle the administrative state.

On Thursday, Schmitt and 11 GOP lawmakers introduced the Separation of Powers Restoration Act (SOPRA), which would establish a de novo standard of review within the Administrative Procedure Act. This would prohibit the judiciary from continuing any unconstitutional agency deference standards, which Schmitt says stack the deck in court against private parties and in favor of big government.

GOP Launches Major Effort to Curb Federal Agency Power in Wake of Supreme Court Ruling

Under SOPRA, courts would weigh the merits of arguments without a deference standard to either side, placing citizens and businesses on equal footing with administrative agencies in court challenges. A similar bill passed the House earlier this Congress along party lines, and the Senate version currently has 11 co-sponsors.

In addition to SOPRA, a wider group of GOP senators are sending letters to 101 executive agencies that have published over 50 final rules since 2000. The senators seek information on ongoing rulemaking, civil enforcement actions, and adjudications to assess the impact of the Supreme Court's decision on these actions.

GOP Launches Major Effort to Curb Federal Agency Power in Wake of Supreme Court Ruling

Senator Cynthia Lummis, R-Wy., emphasized the constitutional basis of the effort. "Decision-making powers lie with the democratically-elected members of Congress, not unelected bureaucrats," she said.

Lummis added that the Chevron doctrine had empowered Biden's agencies to "drown the people of Wyoming in a sea of regulations." She believes it is necessary to "put these runaway agencies back in their place."

GOP Launches Major Effort to Curb Federal Agency Power in Wake of Supreme Court Ruling

Schmitt also leads a working group of 17 colleagues who will regularly meet to assess ways to limit the "unlawful exercise of power by the administrative state." He believes the Senate must reclaim its role in lawmaking, as Congress has abdicated its duty to legislate to "nameless and faceless bureaucrats."

"For far too long, the deck has been stacked against citizens while these all-powerful alphabet soup agencies run roughshod," Schmitt said. "It's time to take that power back and return to a truly representative government."

The GOP's efforts face opposition from Democrats, who argue that reducing agency authority would harm consumers, workers, and the environment. However, Republicans maintain that their goal is to restore the proper balance of powers between the legislative and executive branches of government.