The Dismantling of Government Power

Recent rulings are rolling back federal regulatory authority, echoing past constitutional battles over administrative governance.

Gillian Metzger, a professor of constitutional law at Columbia University, examines the Supreme Court’s ongoing efforts to limit administrative power, framing it as part of a broader conservative legal and political strategy. She traces the roots of these attacks back to the 1930s, when similar judicial resistance to federal governance triggered a constitutional crisis. Metzger discusses the implications of overturning the Chevron doctrine, a decision that previously allowed agencies to interpret ambiguous laws, and how these legal shifts threaten environmental protections, financial regulations, and public health policies. She argues that understanding this historical pattern is essential to anticipating the next phase of legal and political battles over the role of government in American life.

Learn more about her work at https://www.law.columbia.edu/faculty/...