The Future of the Chevron Deference
By Tori Kovalchick Since the conservative overhaul of the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) under the Trump presidency, we continue to watch decades of legal precedent unraveling. Two new cases have entered this conversation: Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, and Relentless, Inc. v. Department of Commerce. Both cases pose major threats to federal agencies that interpret statutes under the “Chevron deference.” These cases entered SCOTUS in the spring of 2023, and the outlook on a decision is in the summer of this year. The “Chevron deference” is a long-standing precedent established through SCOTUS’ ruling on Chevron U.S.A., Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc. back in 1984. This “deference” of interpretation of a federal rule comes in two steps, and it revolves around the ambiguity of the law that is being challenged. If a federal rule is challenged but found to be clear, then the court can rule on its own interpretation. But, if the rule is declared ambiguous,