The Supreme Court’s landmark decision in Relentless Inc. v. Department of Commerce, argued and decided alongside Loper Bright v. Raimondo, transformed administrative law by overturning the Chevron deference doctrine. For decades, agencies exploited statutory ambiguities to expand their own authority, leaving Americans subject to bureaucratic interpretations rather than the independent judgment of real judges. This era is now over.
The Relentless Working Group brings together leading attorneys and organizations aligned with NCLA’s mission to monitor, analyze, and discuss how lower courts apply this historic ruling. Our objective is clear: ensure that federal judges, not agency bureaucrats, interpret and enforce laws as Congress intended. Join us in safeguarding judicial independence and holding administrative agencies accountable.
BEFORE:
the world under Chevron was a travesty of justice
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Chevron required courts to systematically favor (i.e., pre-commit to preferring) the executive branch’s statutory interpretations, abandoning their core constitutional duty to exercise independent judgment.
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Even when a court thought the non-agency litigant had the better of an argument, the federal agency won as long as the court deemed the statute ‘ambiguous’ and the agency’s position merely ‘reasonable.’
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Chevron prevented Americans from having their cases against agencies (and agencies’ cases against them) heard by impartial adjudicators, but due process at a bare minimum requires an unbiased judge.
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Congress delegated judicial power—which it does not possess in the first place—to be administered by executive agencies.
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Chevron ignored Section 706 of the Administrative Procedure Act, a law that required de novo review.
AFTER:
the world under Loper Bright/Relentless has restored justice
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Courts—not agencies—have the authority to interpret laws. Judges—not agency ‘experts’—are expert in legal interpretation. Loper Bright/Relentless revives judges’ ability and duty to exercise independent judgment.
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As the Court ruled, Section 706 of the Administrative Procedure Act prohibits Chevron deference by requiring courts to interpret statutes de novo. And it always has, ever since the APA passed in 1946.
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Agencies can still offer statutory interpretations; their views can persuade but will no longer bind courts.
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Agencies will no longer exercise judicial power, and the fiction that Congress ever delegated such power will no longer prevail.
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Administrative law didn’t prevent agencies from regulating before Chevron. After Chevron, regulation will continue, but within constitutional bounds. States like California regulate plenty without Chevron.
Briefs
| Filed | Document | Case Name | Court | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7/31/2023 | Brief of the Chamber of Commerce of the UnitedStates of America and the National Association OfManufacturers as Amici Curiae in Support OfPetitioners and Vacatur | Huntsman Petrochemical LLC v. Environmental Protection Agency | U.S. Court of Appealsfor the District of Columbia Circuit | 2023.07.31-HuntsmanPetrochemicalv.EPA-USCCandNAMAmicus.pdf |
| 8/19/2023 | EPA’s Supplemental Brief | States of Texas, et al. v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, et al. | U.S. Court of Appealsfor the District of Columbia Circuit | 2023.08.19-Texasv.EPA-EPASupplementalBrief.pdf |
| 8/19/2024 | Supplemental Brief for Private Petitioners | States of Texas, et al. v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, et al. | U.S. Court of Appealsfor the District of Columbia Circuit | 2024.08.19-Texasv.EPA-PrivatePetitionersSupplementalBrief.pdf |
| 8/22/2024 | Petitioners’ Reply Brief | Frank Harmon Black, et al. v. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission | U.S. Court of AppealsFor the Fourth Circuit | 2024.08.22-Blackv.SEC-PetitionersReplyBrief.pdf |
| 8/22/2024 | Brief of Advancing American Freedom, Inc., Amici Curiae in Support of Plaintiffs | Davidson, et al. v. Gensler, et al. | U.S. District Court for the Western District OfTexas | 2024.08.22-Davidsonv.Gensler-AdvancingAmericanFreedomAmicus.pdf |
| 9/4/2024 | Brief Amici Curiae of Relentless Inc., Huntress Inc. And Seafreeze Fleet LLC in Support of Plaintiffs-Appellants | Loper Bright Enterprises, Inc., et al. v. Gina Raimondo, et al. | U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit | 2024.09.04-LoperBright-NCLAamicus.pdf |
| 9/23/2024 | Supplemental Brief for the Secretary of Labor | Secretary of Labor v. KC Transport, Inc., et al. | U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit | 2024.09.23-KCTransport-DOLSuppl.Brief_.pdf |
| 9/26/2024 | Plaintiffs’ Supplemental Brief in Support of Motion for Summary Judgment | Relentless Inc., et al. v. U.S. Department of Commerce, et al. | U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island | 2024.09.26-RelentlessPlaintiffsSupplementalBrief.pdf |
| 10/9/2024 | Petition for Rehearing en Banc | State of Tennessee v. Xavier Becerra, et al. | U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit | 2024.10.09-Tennesseespetitionforrehearingenbanc.pdf |
| 10/23/2024 | Supplemental BriefFor Respondent Kc Transport, Inc. | Secretary of Labor v. KC Transport, Inc., et al. | U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit | 2024.10.23-KCTransport-KCSupBr.pdf |
| 10/25/2024 | Defendants’ Supplemental Brief | Relentless Inc., et al. v. U.S. Department of Commerce, et al. | U.S. District Courtfor the District of Rhode Island | 2024.11.07-KCTransport-SOLsupplbr.pdf |
| 11/7/2024 | Supplemental Reply Brief for the Secretary of Labor | Secretary of Labor v. KC Transport, Inc., et al. | U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit | 2024.11.12-RelenltlessSupplementalReply1.pdf |
| 11/12/2024 | Plaintiffs’ Supplemental Reply Brief in Support of Motion for Summary Judgment and Response to Defendants’ Supplemental Brief | Relentless Inc., et al. v. U.S. Department of Commerce, et al. | U.S. District Courtfor the District of Rhode Island | 2024.11.12-RelenltlessSupplementalReply.pdf |
| 11/26/2024 | Defendants’ Supplemental Response Brief | Relentless Inc., et al. v. U.S. Department of Commerce, et al. | U.S. District Courtfor the District of Rhode Island | 2024.11.26-Relentless-GovernmentsSuplementalResponseBr.pdf |
| Filed | Document | Case Name | Court | Link |
Court Opinions
| Filed | Document | Case Name | Court | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8/1/2024 | Opinion of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit | In re: MCP No. 185 | U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit | 2024.08.01-InreMCPNo.185openinternetrule.pdf |
| 8/13/2024 | Opinion of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit | Huntsman Petrochemical LLC v. Environmental Protection Agency | U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit | 2024.08.13-HuntsmanPetrochemicalv.EPAD_.C.Cir_.pdf |
| 8/23/2024 | Opinion of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit | Restaurant Law Center v. United States Department of Labor | U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit | 2024.08.23-RestaurantLawCenterv.DOL5thCir.pdf |
| 8/26/2024 | Opinion of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia, Brunswick Division | State of Kansas, et al. v. U.S. Department of Labor | U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia, Brunswick Division | 2024.08.26-Kansasv.DOL-PIOrderS.D.Georgia.pdf |
| 8/26/2024 | Opinion of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit | State of Tennessee v. Xavier Becerra, et al. | U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit | 2024.08.26-Tennesseev.Becerra6thCircuit.pdf |
| 9/3/2024 | Opinion of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit | Lake Region Healthcare Corporation v. Xavier Becerra | U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit | 2024.09.03-LakeRegionHealthcareCorporationvBecerra.pdf |
| 11/8/2024 | Opinion of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit | Grand Canyon University v. Miguel A. Cardona | U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit | 2024.11.08-GrandCanyonUniversityv.Cardona9thCir.pdf |
| 12/10/2024 | Opinion of the U.S. Supreme Court | Amina Bouarfa v. Alejandro Mayorkas | U.S. Supreme Court | 2024.12.10-BouarfavMayorkas.pdf |
| 12/23/2024 | Opinion of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit | Miguel Angel Moctezuma-Reyes v. Merrick B. Garland | U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit | 2024.12.23-Moctezuma-ReyesvGarland.pdf |
| 1/2/2025 | Opinion of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit | In re: MCP No. 185 | U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit | 2025.01.02-InreMCPNo.185openinternetrule.pdf |
| 1/10/2025 | Opinion of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit | Michael Lissack, Appellant v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue | U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit | 2025.01.10-LissackvCommissionerofInternalRevenue.pdf |
| Filed | Document | Case Name | Court | Link |
Articles
| Date | Title | Author | Publication | Type | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8/13/2024 | After Chevron, a New Birth of Deference for the<br /> Administrative State? | Jack Fitzhenry, Caleb Sampson | The Federalist Society | Blog | 2024.08.13-AfterChevronaNewBirthofDeferencefortheAdministrativeStateTheFederalistSociety-1.pdf |
| 8/23/2024 | The Sixth Circuit Stays the FCC’s Latest Net<br /> Neutrality Flip-Flop | Randolph May | The Federalist Society | Blog | 2024.08.23-TheSixthCircuitStaystheFCCsLatestNetNeutralityFlip-FlopTheFederalistSociety.pdf |
| 9/3/2024 | Anticipating A New Modern Skidmore Standard | Kristin E. Hickman | None | Scholarly Article | 2024.09.03-AnticipatingANewModernSkidmoreStandard-Prof.KristinE.Hickman.pdf |
| 9/18/2024 | The Curtain Falls on Chevron: Will the<br /> Chevron Two-Step Give Way to a<br /> Simpler Loper Bright-Line Rule? | Ronald A. Cass | The Federalist Society | Scholarly Article | 2024.09.18-TheCurtainFallsonChevron-WilltheChevronTwo-StepGiveWaytoaSimplerLoperBright-LineRule.pdf |
| 9/19/2024 | Overturning Chevron<br /> Is a Major Victory | Philip Hamburger | Tom Klingenstein | Blog | 2024.09.19-OverturningChevronIsaMajorVictoryHamburger.pdf |
| 9/23/2024 | A Supreme Court Justice Warned<br /> That a Ruling Would Cause “Large-<br /> Scale Disruption.” The EIects Are<br /> Already Being Felt. | Eli Sanders | ProPublica | Article | 2024.09.23-TheKeyCasesImpactedbySupremeCourtChevronDeferenceRulingProPublica.pdf |
| 9/25/2024 | The Supreme Court’s New New Deal | Dan Greenberg | Competitive Enterprise Institute | Scholarly Article | 2024.09.25-TheSupremeCourtsNewNewDealCEI.pdf |
| 12/15/2024 | The looming post-Chevron fight over the<br /> administrative state | Eli Nachmany | The Hill | Op-ed | 2024.12.15-Theloomingpost-Chevronfightovertheadministrativestate.pdf |
| 12/16/2024 | What Loper Bright And Trump 2.0 Mean For New<br /> Transpo Tech | Ariel Wolf, David Bonelli and Ian Williams | Law360 | Article | 2024.12.16-WhatLoperBrightAndTrump2.0MeanForNewTranspoTech.pdf |
| 1/3/2025 | Good Riddance to Net Neutrality | The Editorial Board | The Wall Street Journal | Editorial | 2025.01.03-GoodRiddancetoNetNeutrality-WSJ.pdf |
| 1/13/2025 | How Decline Of Deference Will Affect Trump Policymaking | Kevin King and Brad Grisenti | Law360 | Article | 2025.01.13-HowDeclineOfDeferenceWillAffectTrumpPolicymaking.pdf |
| Date | Title | Author | Publication | Type |
