Biden v. Nebraska

  • An agency acting on issues with staggering economic and political significance requires explicit authorization from Congress.
  • When an executive action is struck down under the Major Questions Doctrine, it does not invalidate the entire statute; rather, only the executive action is struck down.
    • From this case: The HEROES Act allowed the Secretary of Education to "waive or modify" certain provisions of student financial assistance. The provision did not allow for the cancellation of $430 billion in student loans. This was a major question, and Congress did not explicitly dive this authority.
  • J. Barrett's concurrence:
    • MQD is an interpretive tool reflecting the idea of common sense.
    • Does giving the babysitter the credit card and saying "have fun" mean she can take the kids on a two-day camping trip? No.
    • Thus, Congress keeps big (major questions) decisions for themselves unless explicitly delegated.
  • Summation: Court assumes that Congress didn't mean to give away a massive amount of power that it did not explicitly grant.
    • The Statute survives, but the agency action doesn't.