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President-elect Trump’s second administration will be the first since the overturning of Chevron deference. Under the Chevron deference doctrine, courts gave deference to federal agencies when crafting regulations using vaguely written laws.
Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, which overturned Chevron, will necessitate legislative specificity, but this may prove challenging. As such, the incoming Trump administration may be constrained when seeking to rewrite certain regulations.
What this means is that the administration may issue more informal guidance to make its desired changes rather than leveraging formal rulemakings. More information on how Loper Bright may impact Trump’s plans is available here.
That said, congressional legislation will not be required for all of Trump’s stated plans. While court challenges are likely, Trump may be able to enact his plans for tariffs using executive action alone.
The same goes for Trump’s plans to deport undocumented migrants, plans that will also likely face judicial challenges. More information on what Trump may be able to enact unilaterally is available here.
In summary, a GOP majority in the Senate and a likely GOP majority in the House do not guarantee the ability of Trump’s second administration to enact long-term reform. Expect the opposition to Trump’s proposals to leverage the new judicial environment to scrutinize the administration’s actions.
