As the Supreme Court’s ruling in Trump v. Slaughter expands presidential authority over independent federal agencies, energy lawyers are assessing the decision’s potential impact on regulators such as FERC and the NRC. While the ruling specifically applies to the FTC and the law establishing the agency, legal experts say it has major implications for other federal agencies and the congressional statutes that limit the executive branch’s power to control them.
“FERC and the NRC exercise precisely the kind of functions that the majority opinion in this court decision identified as constitutionally belonging to the executive, belonging to the president,” Bracewell’s Scott Segal told Energy Intelligence.
Segal said he expects “early and probably aggressive litigation” referencing the ruling.
