What Ginsburg Said About Chevron Deference
Ruth, Not Doug
Given that the Republican Supreme Court (US) overruled Chevron, USA v. Natural Resources Defense Council (1984)1 last year in Loper-Bright,2 it behooves us to come to understand what this might mean for Constitutional government going forward.
Here’s me lecturing on Ginsburg’s lower court decision on the D.C. Circuit US Court of Appeals in the case where Neil Gorsuch’s mother won.3 That’s right, the same Neil Gorsuch who voted to overrule (last year) that same win.
Gorsuch’s mother was also a Republican from Colorado. She’d been appointed EPA Administrator by Ronald Reagan when he won in 1980. She was on the same side as Chevron, USA, and they lost before Ruth Ginsburg in 1982 I believe. But, they won in 1984 at the US Supreme Court. The Reagan administration, Gorsuch’s mother, and Chevron won.
Now, hold on to your hat. The Democrats were defending the Reagan win in court last year. They were defending the win of Ann Gorsuch, EPA Administrator, who’d originally lost, as we’ve just said, before Ruth Bader Ginsburg, back when Ginsburg was a wee ladess on the DC Circuit. The Democrat justices on the Court all sided with Reagan in 1984 against Ginsburg (back then), for Gorsuch’s mother (back then), even when Neil, her kid, is now on the high Court and voted to overrule what the Democrats now want.
If you’re Jerry Seinfeld in a meme, you’re asking Kramer, what is going on ??
American politics is the gift that keeps on giving, Jerry, Kramer would say, if he were me.
Here’s the first episode of a series we’re doing on The Republican Professor podcast.
This stuff is important. Don’t slack off. Lean into the pain. The reward will be great.
Audio only doesn’t have the text, but is available here:
467 U.S. 867 (1984). https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=14437597860792759765&q=chevron+usa+inc+v+natural+resource&hl=en&as_sdt=2003
U.S. reports pagination isn’t available yet, but you can find the Supreme Court reporter version on Google Scholar here at 144 S. Ct. 2244 :https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=6039670076559479890&q=loper+bright+enterprises+v+raimondo&hl=en&as_sdt=2003
The case is cited as Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc. v. Gorsuch, 685 F. 2d 718 (1982), D.C. Circuit, available here : https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=3149302239467580873&q=gorsuch+epa+v.+natural+resource+&hl=en&as_sdt=2003