STORY: The U.S. Supreme Court dealt a major blow to federal regulatory power on Friday.
In a 6-3 decision, the justices overturned a 1984 precedent that had given government agencies broad leeway in interpreting laws they administer.
The ruling marked the latest decision in recent years powered by the Supreme Court's conservative majority that hemmed in the authority of federal agencies, and a defeat to President Joe Biden's administration.
The decision came after private firms challenged a government-run program monitoring overfishing off the coast of New England. Previously, due to a case involving oil company Chevron, judges deferred to federal agencies' interpretations of laws deemed to be ambiguous.
But conservatives and business interests had long opposed what became known as "Chevron deference."
Those groups cheered the decision, saying it eliminates a rule that requires courts to favor the government in all manner of challenges to regulation.
The litigation was part of what has been termed the "war on the administrative state," an effort to weaken the federal agency bureaucracy that interprets laws.
But the decreasing productivity of Congress - thanks to its gaping partisan divide - has led to a growing reliance, especially by Democratic presidents, on rules issued by U.S. agencies to realize regulatory goals.
Liberal Justice Elena Kagan, in dissent, said the ruling elevates the Supreme Court's power over other branches of the U.S. government.
