A 2023 #SCOTUS decision set the stage for the action by limiting the agency’s power to police #wetlands. In the opinion in Sackett v. EPA, Justice #Alito wrote that the #CleanWaterAct allowed the #EPA to regulate only wetlands with a “continuous surface connection” to a “relatively permanent” body of #water.

But he did not explicitly define a “relatively permanent” body of water. Now, the #Trump admin is describing it as a body of water that flows year-round or during the “wet season.”

#law

“I wonder if you ever thought that your legacy as a constitutional advocate would be the man who revived the nondelegation argument?” #Alito asked of #Katyal, who served in the Obama admin.

Katyal was quick to respond. “Heck yes, Justice Alito. I think Justice #Gorsuch nailed it on the head when saying that when you’re dealing with a statute that is this open-ended – unlike anything we’ve ever seen – to give the President this power.”

#SCOTUS #law #tariffs #PartisanCourt #Trump #economy

“I wonder if you ever thought that your legacy as a constitutional advocate would be the man who revived the nondelegation argument?” #Alito asked of #Katyal, who served in the Obama admin.

Katyal was quick to respond. “Heck yes, Justice Alito. I think Justice #Gorsuch nailed it on the head when saying that when you’re dealing with a statute that is this open-ended – unlike anything we’ve ever seen – to give the President this power.”

#SCOTUS #law #tariffs #PartisanCourt #Trump #economy

Justice #Alito asked #Katyal about his argument that the #Trump admin’s #tariffs violate the “nondelegation doctrine,” a legal theory that prevents #Congress from delegating its legislative powers to other branches of government. The doctrine has been pushed in recent years primarily by #conservative legal groups.

#SCOTUS #law

Justice #Alito asks whether #SCOTUS should address #Trump’s authority to impose #tariffs under authorities other than the law at issue in the case. That would be unusual, and his question indicates that he may think the administration is in trouble on the central issue in the case.

#PartisanCourt #ActivistCourt #AbuseOfPower #economy

Justice #Alito probed Katyal’s argument against #Trump’s #tariffs asking, “Do you think all tariffs are revenue- raising?”

Katyal, said it was clear that President Trump’s tariffs were “obviously revenue-raising.” Katyal added that even in the government’s brief to the court it said the tariffs were “going to raise $4 trillion.”

#SCOTUS #law #PartisanCourt #ActivistCourt #AbuseOfPower #economy