#300—Supreme Court reins in federal agencies

Landmark ruling overturns Chevron

Welcome to Yaka Stuff, our weekly newsletter that covers news, industry perspectives, and updates from the Hard Yaka ecosystem. Check out our last report here.

This week:

1. Supreme Court reins in federal agencies

2. Meanwhile, Gary Gensler continues to Gary Gensler

3. What Greg is up to

4. Stuff happens

1. Supreme Court reins in federal agencies

The Supreme Court has overturned a 1984 precedent, essentially reining in the power and autonomy of federal agencies.

Here’s the WSJ (via Margaret Slemmer):

The 6-3 decision, along ideological lines, discards a 1984 precedent directing federal courts to defer to agency legal interpretations when the statutory language passed by Congress is ambiguous. Conservative legal activists, Republican-led states and some business groups have argued in recent years that the 1984 case, Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council, allows agenda-driven regulators to push the limits of their power. 

Friday’s ruling is a watershed in a series of Roberts Court decisions curbing federal power, whether exercised by Congress or the executive branch agencies it created. This week alone, the court said Congress went too far in authorizing the Securities and Exchange Commission to enforce securities fraud through in-house hearings and blocked Environmental Protection Agency rules intended to reduce cross-state air pollution.

In abandoning the doctrine called Chevron deference, the justices have given parties unhappy with agency decisions—typically businesses and property owners—more opportunities to overturn regulations by persuading federal judges that officials exceeded their authority.

“Agencies have no special competence in resolving statutory ambiguities. Courts do,” Chief Justice John Roberts wrote for the court, joined by Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett.

And what goes around, comes around:

Friday’s decision brings the Chevron saga full circle. Conservatives initially hailed the Chevron decision, which required the then-liberal leaning federal judiciary to defer to Reagan administration policies rolling back environmental protections.

Over subsequent decades, however, Democratic administrations used regulatory tools to advance their agendas in the face of congressional gridlock. With Congress often passing vaguely worded legislation, the Chevron doctrine limited judges from second-guessing regulators’ application of ambiguous provisions except when manifestly unreasonable.

Relevant:

• Via Margaret Slemmer—Supreme Court Pares Back Federal Regulatory Power

• Supreme Court guts agency power in seismic Chevron ruling

• Supreme Court strikes serious blow against the administrative state

2. Meanwhile, Gary Gensler continues to Gary Gensler

Relevant:

• SEC Sues Consensys Over MetaMask Staking, Broker Allegations

• SEC Sues Crypto Firm Consensys for Failing to Register as Broker

• US regulators could approve spot ether ETFs for launch by July 4, sources say

• Solana ETFs and Huge SOL Gains a Real Possibility Under Trump, Major Crypto Trader Says

• New Documents Show SEC’s Concerns About Crypto Company Aiming for IPO

• Via Jun Hiraga—Anthony Scaramucci on Why Biden, Not Trump, Will Be Best for Crypto

• Trump in talks to speak at Bitcoin convention in July

3. What Greg is up to

Hard Yaka co-founder and Congressional hopeful Greg Kidd just finished a two-week tour in rural Nevada to get educated on local issues and joined host Sam Shad on Nevada Newsmakers to discuss what he learned and his vision for the state’s future.

Sam asked Greg about his latest billboards in northern Nevada, which displayed the slogan, “Free, Fair, Wild.”

Well, “free” as in freedom. “Fair” as in a fair deal for everybody, not just good for some and not for others. And “wild” really is tribute to Nevada’s heritage because this is place that takes risk, knows how to manage risk—it’s probably the defining feature of this state. I’d analogize it to firemen. When they see smoke, they run to a fire. Nevada has shown an ability to take on risk, manage it, and build an amazing state. It’s why I’m living here, and why I’ve chosen to make this place home. I’ve lived in a lot of places in my life, but this place is free, fair, and wild, and I intend to double down on those three principles.

Check out the full interview.

Also:

• Congressional candidate wants state’s 'lithium loop' closed

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• Visa, Mastercard $30 Billion Swipe-Fee Deal Blocked by Judge

• Ethereum Gas Fees At ‘Rock Bottom’ as Network Activity Soars - Unchained

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