Congress and the Shifting Sands in Administrative Law

Abstract

In recent years, we have seen an "anti-administrativist" turn in the federal judiciary, with the Supreme Court limiting agency power in important respects. These shifting sands in administrative law seem to be motivated, at least in part, by the Court's perception about the rise of presidential administration and decline in legislative activity. As part of the Widener Commonwealth Law Review Judging in Administrative Law Symposium, this Essay assesses how the Court has responded to concerns about over-presidentialism and then sketches out a number of ways Congress can respond to reassert itself in federal lawmaking.