A pair of US Supreme Court rulings late last week could provide a boost for legal challenges to the Biden administration’s energy agenda, which has several high-profile climate and energy rules in the queue. In cases involving the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Supreme Court held that constitutionally based challenges to federal agencies’ authority can be raised in court before the administrative process at the agency level had fully played out. The rulings could impact Biden’s climate and energy agenda, which, in a divided Congress, leans heavily on administrative powers to reduce carbon emissions and accelerate clean energy development. Legal challenges to energy-related rulemakings and agency decisions often have underlying constitutional challenges, such as government "takings" over leasing-related lawsuits or a doctrine against interference with interstate commerce.
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