NRDC lost that case. In the four decades since, NRDC has both lost and won other cases that have been decided based on the Chevron doctrine. But NRDC respects the legal framework that the doctrine provides and the important values it serves.
Congress passes the laws the federal agencies administer. And Congress gives agencies the responsibility to administer those laws.
Federal agencies are directly accountable to the U.S. president, the only public official elected nationally to serve the entire country. They are also accountable to Congress, which controls their funding and, through the Senate, decides whether to confirm each agency’s senior leadership nominees.
It is these publicly accountable federal agencies, not unelected judges, that have the responsibility, as well as the legal and technical expertise, to administer our laws in a way that ensures they achieve the…