Senator Coons statement on Supreme Court decision overturning Chevron deference doctrine

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.) released the following statement today after the Supreme Court issued its opinion in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo and Relentless Inc. v. Department of Commerce, ruling that federal courts must not defer to the expert opinions of federal agencies when asked to interpret ambiguous laws:

"Once again, the Supreme Court's conservative majority has overturned a commonsense precedent that has served the country well for four decades. This is a power grab that will turn federal courts into policymakers, authorizing judges to rule on technical issues without the benefit of agency subject matter experts who serve in an equal branch of government. This decision will jeopardize regulations on everything from the environment, to health and safety, to consumer protection.

"The American people's trust in the Supreme Court and our federal judiciary is already at all-time lows. The last thing that they want is for the courts to start writing regulatory policy, too."

Senator Coons is a member of the Senate Judiciary Committe.