Five-justice majority restores Trump-era policy on water pollution, provoking more criticism of emergency docket

Five-justice majority restores Trump-era policy on water pollution, provoking more criticism of emergency docket

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A divided Supreme Court on Wednesday reinstated a Trump-era environmental policy that makes it harder for states to block projects that may cause water pollution. The unsigned and unexplained decision prompted Chief Justice John Roberts to join the court’s three liberal justices in criticizing the majority’s use of the emergency docket.

The court’s decision “renders the Court’s emergency docket not for emergencies at all,” Justice Elena Kagan wrote in dissent. “The docket becomes only another place for merits determinations … Read the rest