Court Stops Bureaucrats from Becoming “De Facto Lawmakers”

In the U.S. Supreme Court’s significant ruling in the case of West Virginia v. EPA, the justices pushed back hard against the unelected bureaucrats who have been trying to implement large-scale change regarding the nation’s energy policy, says National Center Senior Fellow Bonner Cohen, Ph.D.

The Court pointed out that these efforts constitute an unconstitutional power grab. The ruling highlights the need for major change for a government that has long been happily shrugging off the duties of checks and balances:

For decades, Congress has delegated its constitutionally-prescribed lawmaking authority to unelected bureaucrats at federal regulatory agencies. It has done so by passing vaguely-worded laws and then standing idly by while bureaucrats write rules and regulations under those laws.  But every rule and regulation has the force of law behind it – enabling bureaucrats to become de facto lawmakers.

The Supreme Court’s ruling in West Virginia v. EPA begins the process of rolling back this harmful process. It says, in effect, that EPA lacks the congressional authority to limit greenhouse gas emissions from coal-fired power plants. If EPA wants that power, it must first go to Congress and request it. This is what the Founders envisioned when they created the separation of powers.

The ruling tells climate activists, including those in the Biden White House, that they will have to find other ways to impose their green utopia on hardworking Americans.

In addition to Bonner, members of the National Center’s Project 21 black leadership network also praised this ruling.