The Congressional Research Service has a piece out on the implications of the decision of the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in Jarkesy v. SEC, holding that removal protections for SEC Administrative Law Judges are unconstitutional. Supposedly, there are high constitutional principles at stake in cases such as this but it's mostly people trying to avoid punishment for securities violations. Also, there's basic right wing nihilism that equates thwarting administrative agencies with protecting freedom. Nevertheless, this could certainly affect Social Security.
"Nevertheless, just as bestowing removal protections on agency adjudicators has constitutional implications for the President’s ability to control the executive branch, stripping ALJ removal protections may also raise due process and pro-agency bias concerns like those commonly raised before the APA was enacted."
ReplyDeleteWe're back to the "throwing away your umbrella because you're not getting wet" school of judicial activism. Lucia and its progeny are just as bad jurisprudence as Shelby County and its progeny.