The Supreme Court recently heard oral arguments in American Hospital Association v. Becerra, which is ostensibly about payments hospitals receive under Medicare. But lurking beneath the surface are deeper issues involving a judge-made administrative doctrine known as “Chevron deference,” which essentially transfers Congress’ legislative powers and federal courts’ authority to call balls and strikes to unelected, politically unaccountable bureaucrats.
How did this happen? After all, our system of government relies on the consent of the governed memorialized in the U.S. Constitution. And as set forth in the Constitution, the people have agreed on a system of separated powers, in which the legislative, executive, and judicial branches function as checks and balances on one another.
