, Columnist
Justice Kagan’s Powerful Defense of the Administrative State
She got the better of the argument with Gorsuch. She also won on the merits.
A victory for Justice Kagan.
Photographer: Doug Mills-Pool/Getty Images
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The Supreme Court term that ended this week had a large number of high-profile cases. But many of its decisions involved the relatively technical field of administrative law, which sets out legal restrictions on the power of federal agencies. It has profound effects on people’s lives, and it is often the subject of intense judicial debates.
The court’s most far-reaching ruling settled a long-disputed question: If an agency issues an ambiguous regulation – involving clean air, food safety or civil rights – who gets to sort out the ambiguity? The agency or a court?