Reigning in Washington Bureaucrats

Unelected bureaucrats in Washington, D.C. often do not receive the scrutiny that they deserve. These Federal workers occupy influential posts in government agencies—like the Department of Labor or the Department of Health and Human Services—and dictate more policy than many in the public realize. This policymaking impacts American taxpayers’ wallets, workplaces, medicine cabinets, and more.

Unfortunately, when power lies within the hands of unelected bureaucrats, the voice of Americans can go unrepresented in the policymaking process. The clearest example of this executive legislating gone awry can be seen in the current Administration. President Biden has signed 46 executive orders during just the first five months of his presidency, with 37 coming in just the first week, the most in history. Among these executive orders are directives to cancel the Keystone XL Pipeline—along with hundreds of good paying jobs here in Wisconsin—fund abortions in foreign countries with taxpayer dollars, and reverse Trump-era border security and immigration policies that reduced illegal border crossings and encouraged legal immigration.

In an effort to curb the overreaching executive actions and burdensome regulations of the Biden Administration, I introduced the Separation of Powers Restoration Act (SOPRA), legislation that would mitigate the unilateral power given to unelected bureaucrats in our Federal agencies.

The power of Federal bureaucrats has skyrocketed since 1984, when the Supreme Court handed down a decision in Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council that determined courts, when interpreting an ambiguous statute, should defer to the agency’s interpretation of the statute. This ruling, known as the “Chevron deference,” marked a considerable departure from the landmark Supreme Court case, Marbury v. Madison, in which the court ruled that if a statute must be interpreted, the Federal courts are the appropriate Constitutional branch to decide what the law says.

The bill I introduced, SOPRA, would eliminate the Chevron deference by updating the scope of judicial review of agency actions. Our Constitution clearly gives legislative power to Congress and judicial power to our Federal courts. For too long, the Chevron deference has given unelected bureaucrats unjustified power at the expense of Congressional intent. My bill would mitigate the Biden Administration’s overreaching executive actions and regulations by rightfully returning power to Congress.

At a time when President Biden’s appointed bureaucrats are proposing radical policy changes to the very makeup of our country, it is critical that we put a check on these agencies by designating appropriate authority to Congress as outlined in our Constitution.