Posted on 03/03/2016 8:05:41 AM PST by xzins
Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts rejected a plea Thursday to block a contentious air pollution rule for power plants, in a big victory for the Obama administration.
Roberts’s order came despite his court’s 5-4 decision last year ruling that the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) regulation, known as mercury and air toxics standards, is illegal.
Michigan led a group of 20 states last month, empowered by the Supreme Court’s recent unprecedented decision to halt the EPA’s climate change rule for power plants, in asking the court to live up to its ruling last year and block the regulation’s enforcement. “Unless this court stays or enjoins further operation of the Mercury and Air Toxics rule, this court’s recent decision in Michigan v. EPA will be thwarted,” the states wrote in a Feb. 23 filing with the court.
“A stay or injunction is appropriate because this court has already held that the finding on which the rule rests in unlawful and beyond EPA’s statutory authority.”
The EPA responded that no judicial stay is necessary, since it’s working to fix the problem the court identified by next month, and the states would not suffer irreparable harm in that time.
“The requested stay would harm the public interest by undermining reliance interests and the public health and environmental benefits associated with the rule,” the government said. “The application lacks merit and should be denied.”
Roberts acted swiftly, waiting less than a day after the EPA’s response brief to side with the Obama administration. He acted unilaterally, electing to reject the request himself rather than take it to the full court, which may have led to a 4-4 split following Justice Antonin Scalia’s death.
The court ruled last June that the EPA should have conducted a cost-benefit analysis on the regulation before it even decided to start writing it. The agency did so as part of the regulatory process, but the justices said that was not sufficient.
But the Supreme Court did not overturn the rule at the time, and the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit said in December that the EPA could keep enforcing it.
Environmental groups were very pleased with Roberts’s decision.
I seem to remember the minority in ACA being angry, because they thought they had turned the mandate down, and Roberts changed his mind at the last minute.
Is that just a figment of my imagination, or am I remembering that correctly?
Roberts is a foam boy, and they hold it over his head.
The GOP is not on the side of the middle class
Because he illegally adopted 2 Irish kids and the obama team has the goods on him
Appointed by Bush, approved by Cruz. yup.
Thanks, Bush!
Before you make up your mind about this, I would ask you to consider my explanation.
I believe it better explains all the available facts.
Cruz says he preferred Ludi, but that doesn’t change the fact that he said Roberts was a good conservative choice.
Another words, you were wrong too. He was just wronger. Gotcha.
Goatlover
It would be a long standing invitation then because he’s been this way from the beginning...A HUGE surprise to conservatives who thought he was one of us when appointed by Bush....
Were you in favor of Roberts at the time?
I honestly don't remember. But it's not my job to vet him or approve him.
There have been other examples going way back where so called conservatives went to the Supreme Court and decided to become liberals after their appointment. I am old enough to remember Warren and there have been several since then.
You’re just being illogical, Larry.
Neither you or I are insiders. THEY claimed to be, and Cruz gave him a thumbs up.
It might surprise you that GW Bush did not contact me for my opinion.
But he did the Texas Solicitor General who was IN THAT FIELD.
It is the Chicago way, I'm told.
I would like you to consider this idea before you accept that Robert's is the victim of some sort of blackmail.
The Last Year of Obammy.. and America as a Free People.
Thanks, Roberts. Idiot!
Any time L4B needs a vote he just rattles characterless Roberts’s file. Roberts is owned. How old are his adopted kids now? When they reach 18 or twenty-one, will Roberts climb out of the blackmail profile and try to be an honest judge? Doubtful. The man has proven hs is without moral character.
“And that’s assuming that Cruz did something wrong, which I don’t believe anyways. We were all fooled by Roberts, not just Cruz.”
So what will be your excuse when some other Cruz picks act just like him? Say that he was “tricked” too? That isnt an excuse.
And this idea that “everyone” was fooled is a complete myth. I even remember Ann Coulter specifically saying that no one knows anything about this guy when he was nominated, and many of the comments on FR was about how he needed to be confirmed because how cute his kids were more than anyone really caring about his record.
yep, appears that the others’ got their mind right
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