Congress defers, and planet Earth loses

On this week’s episode of Highway to Hill: The Trump administration just gutted the EPA’s “endangerment finding” — the legal foundation for decades of federal climate regulation. How did we get to a place where a single administrative action can erase that much environmental policy? Charlie and SoRelle explain what Chevron deference is, why Congress keeps passing vague laws and letting bureaucrats fill in the details, and how the courts changed the rules of the game.Then, in the Gavel Drop: Speaker Johnson’s rough week continues with more legislative failures, but there’s actually some good news on the Epstein files front as bipartisan pressure and discharge petitions force the DOJ to let more members of Congress view the documents.This week’s syllabus 📚* “Trump Allies Near ‘Total Victory’ in Wiping Out U.S. Climate Regulation” (Lisa Friedman and Maxine Joselow, The New York Times)* “EPA to roll back finding tying emissions to public health” (Kelly Livingston and David Jordan, Roll Call)* “Supreme Court strikes down Chevron, curtailing power of federal agencies” (Amy Howe, SCOTUSBlog)* “The Struggles of Speaker Johnson”(Josh Huder, The Government Affairs Institute)* “Massie, Khanna to visit DOJ to review unredacted Epstein files” (Alex Nitzberg, Fox News) This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit highwaytohill.substack.com