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Page Number: 53.0

16 

WEST VIRGINIA v. EPA 

GORSUCH, J., concurring 

cial respect.  See ante, at 20–22.  Finally, there is a “mis-
match”  between  the  EPA’s  expertise  over  environmental
matters  and  the  agency’s  claim  that  “Congress  implicitly 
tasked it, and it alone, with balancing the many vital con-
siderations  of  national  policy  implicated  in  deciding  how 
Americans  will  get  their  energy.”  Ante,  at  25.  Such  a 
claimed power “requires technical and policy expertise not 
traditionally  needed  in  [the]  EPA’s  regulatory  develop-
ment.”  Ibid. (internal quotation marks omitted).  Again, in
observing this much, the Court does not purport to pass on 
the  wisdom  of  the  agency’s  course.    It  acknowledges  only 
that agency officials have sought to resolve a major policy 
question without clear legislative authorization to do so. 

III 

In places, the dissent seems to suggest that we should not 
be unduly “ ‘concerned’ ” with the Constitution’s assignment
of the legislative power to Congress.  Post, at 29 (opinion of 
KAGAN, J.).  Echoing Woodrow Wilson, the dissent seems to 
think  “a  modern  Nation”  cannot  afford  such  sentiments. 
Post,  at  29–31.  But  recently,  our  dissenting  colleagues
acknowledged that the Constitution assigns “all legislative 
Powers” to Congress and “bar[s their] further delegation.” 
Gundy,  588  U. S.,  at  ___  (plurality  opinion  of  KAGAN,  J.)
(slip  op.,  at  4)  (internal  quotation  marks  and  alteration
omitted).  To be sure, in that case we disagreed about the
exact nature of the “nondelegation inquiry” courts must em-
ploy to vindicate the Constitution.  Id., at ___ (slip op., at
5).  But like Chief Justice Marshall, we all recognized that 
the Constitution does impose some limits on the delegation 
of legislative power.  See ibid.; Wayman, 10 Wheat., at 42– 
43.  And  while  we  all  agree  that  administrative  agencies 
have  important  roles  to  play  in  a  modern  nation,  surely
none of us wishes to abandon our Republic’s promise that 
the people and their representatives should have a mean-