The major questions doctrine should be read as the mirror image of the doctrine that allows implied or incidental authority: if agencies claim broad, extraordinary powers, courts should require clear, express congressional authorization because delegation must be traced back to each enumerated constitutional power. Reading the doctrines as two sides of the same legal coin reframes non‑delegation challenges as multiple, power‑specific inquiries rather than a single broad rule.
— This reframing changes how courts and litigants will argue separation‑of‑powers cases and affects the scope of executive regulatory power across health, trade, environment, and technology regulations.
Robert G. Natelson
2026.03.11
100% relevant
Robert Natelson’s analysis of Justice Gorsuch’s concurrence in Learning Resources v. Trump explicitly argues the major questions doctrine is the logical obverse of incidental authority and ties that view to the Necessary and Proper Clause and eighteenth‑century enumerated‑powers drafting practice.
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