The Supreme Court ruled this week that Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton does not have legal standing to sue over the federal license for a nuclear waste storage facility in his state.
The 6-3 decision could limit who can challenge decisions by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and a handful of other agencies. And according to at least two legal experts, it may also limit ultra vires review, a legal process where parties challenge illegal executive action when a statute wouldn’t otherwise offer a path to the courtroom.
The majority decision “narrowed a path that has been used to challenge government actions that exceed government authority,” said Keith Bradley, co-chair of the appellate and Supreme Court practice at the firm Squire Patton Boggs.
President Donald Trump has favored executive orders to quickly advance his policy agenda, signing far more orders in his first few months than any other president in U.S. history. Those orders have faced numerous legal challenges.
