The Supreme Court ruled Thursday for states challenging the Environmental Protection Agency’s authority over regulations under the Clean Air Act.
The 6-3 ruling is a setback to the Biden administration, which has launched a climate change agenda.
The court reviewed the Trump administration’s rollback of the Clean Power Plan, which under the Obama administration in 2015 handed down guidelines to states in regulating emissions from power plants.
The decision impacts the federal government’s ability to regulate greenhouse gas emissions, which could put a dent in the Biden administration’s climate change policies.
But it also has raised questions about how much discretion executive agencies, such as the EPA, should enjoy to interpret and implement confusing and even contradictory directives from Congress written in the law.