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Page Number: 4

4 

BALDWIN v. UNITED STATES 

THOMAS, J., dissenting 

(2008)).  The  Constitution  also  restricted  the  legislative
power by dividing it between two Houses that check each
other, one of which was kept close to the people through bi-
ennial elections.  See Department of Transportation v. As-
sociation  of  American  Railroads,  575  U. S.  43,  74  (2015) 
(THOMAS, J., concurring in judgment).  When the Executive 
exercises judicial or legislative power, however, it does so
largely free of these safeguards.  The Executive is not insu-
lated from external threats, and it is by definition an agent 
of will, not judgment.  The Executive also faces election less 
frequently than do Members of the House, and its power is
vested in a single person.

Perhaps worst of all, Chevron deference undermines the 
ability of the Judiciary to perform its checking function on 
the other branches.  The Founders expected that the Fed-
eral  Government’s  powers  would  remain  separated—and
the people’s liberty secure—only if the branches could check
each other.  The Judiciary’s checking power is its authority 
to apply the law in cases or controversies properly before it. 
See Michigan, supra, at ___, n. 1 (THOMAS, J., concurring) 
(slip op., at 4, n. 1); Perez, supra, at 124–126 (THOMAS, J., 
concurring in judgment).  When the Executive is free to dic-
tate  the  outcome  of  cases  through  erroneous  interpreta-
tions, the courts cannot check the Executive by applying the 
correct interpretation of the law. 

B 
Chevron deference appears to be inappropriate in many 
cases for another reason: It is likely contrary to the APA,
“which [Chevron] did not even bother to cite.”  United States 
v. Mead Corp., 533 U. S. 218, 241 (2001) (Scalia, J., dissent-
ing).  The APA provides that, “[t]o the extent necessary to 
decision and when presented, the reviewing court shall de-
cide all relevant questions of law, interpret constitutional 
and statutory provisions, and determine the meaning or ap-
plicability of the terms of an agency action.”  5 U. S. C. §706.