Blog
Congress Must Decide How to Choose Between Courts and Agency Adjudication
For some time, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has had a choice of prosecutorial forums. It has been able to choose between prosecuting violators…
Blog
Fifth Circuit Upholds the Right to A Jury Trial Against the SEC
John Thomas Financial CEO Thomas Belesis was riding high, having been awarded the 2011 Businessman of the Year Award from the New York Republicans. While…
Blog
Peer Review for Thee but Not for Me
In February 2017, the Competitive Enterprise Institute petitioned the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to reconsider the 2009 Greenhouse Gas Endangerment Finding. CEI explained in detail…
News Release
Judge Rejects CDC’s Unfounded Mask Mandate for Travel
U.S. District Court Judge Mizelle today vacated the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) mask mandate for public transit, such as airports, train stations, airplanes,…
Blog
Federal Judge Invalidates Federal Mask Mandate
For over a year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has threatened criminal and civil penalties and mandatory removal for not wearing a…
E&E News
Inside a Legal Doctrine that Could Derail Biden Climate Regs
E&E News cites CEI Attorney Devin Watkins on the EPA’s new legislation outlining vehicle emissions standards: As in the Supreme Court power plant…
Blog
CEI Submits Appeal of Lack of Peer Review for EPA’s Greenhouse Gas Endangerment Finding
The Competitive Enterprise Institute is challenging the Environmental Protection Agency’s Endangerment Finding for Greenhouse Gases on procedural grounds. This is the document which supposedly…
News Release
CEI Files Court Petition Challenging EPA Vehicle Emissions Rule
The Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) today filed a petition for review with the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals on behalf of itself, four…
Blog
Judge Cain’s Injunction Concerning Social Cost of Carbon Is Reasonable
Jonathan Adler’s recent article on a preliminary injunction by Judge James D. Cain makes it sound like it’s crazy, but I’m afraid that…
E&E News
Group Asks EPA to Nix Fuel Rule that Relied on Climate Metric
E&E News cites Attorney Devin Watkins on the EPA’s social cost of carbon: A conservative think tank is asking EPA to reconsider its recent…
News Release
Court Stops Biden Admin from Transformative Expansion in Regulatory Authority
A federal court blocked the Biden Administration from implementing “social cost of carbon” regulations today. CEI experts reacted to the decision. Senior fellow…
News Release
Supreme Court Blocks Biden Vaccine Mandate, Cites CEI-Related Case on Separation of Powers
The U.S. Supreme Court today blocked the Biden administration’s controversial test-or-vaccine mandate to be imposed on countless employers nationwide – and cited to a 2010…
News Release
Biden Energy Department Blocks Faster Dishwashers That Consumers Want
The Biden administration today undid a useful, consumer-friendly reform put in place by Biden’s predecessor, reinstating energy restrictions that make household dishwashers take much longer…
Blog
CEI in Amicus Brief Asks Supreme Court to Block the Clean Power Plan that Congress Rejected
People often talk about the undemocratic and illegitimate administrative state, of which the Clean Power Plan (CPP) is the perfect example. The Supreme Court will…
News Release
Biden EPA Fuel Standard Will Impose All-Pain, No-Gain Policies on Consumers
The Biden administration today announced a final rule raising fuel economy standards for cars and small trucks, reversing a more sensible Trump-era rule. The new…
Blog
Request to OIRA to Ensure Peer Review of Agency’s Medical Marijuana Claims
For two years, CEI has been trying to get the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to conduct…
Blog
Another Court Rejects Federal Attempt to Impose a Vaccine Mandate
Shortly following the Fifth Circuit blocking the private employer mandate from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Judge Matthew Schelp of the Eastern…
News Release
CEI Attacks FDA Salt Guidelines for Failure to Undergo Peer Review, Charges Violation of Federal Information Quality Act
The Competitive Enterprise Institute today formally requested the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to peer review nutrition guidelines on sodium in…
News Release
Court Blocks Enforcement of Biden/OSHA Vaccine Mandate Citing Serious Flaws
Statement by Devin Watkins, CEI attorney: “The Fifth Circuit’s decision to temporarily block enforcement of the OSHA vaccine mandate on Saturday is a win…
News Release
OSHA Vaccine Mandate — Trouble for Employers, Rough Time in Courts
The Biden administration today published its much-anticipated vaccine mandate for businesses that employ 100 or more people. This “emergency temporary standard” by the Occupational…
New York Times
Supreme Court to Hear Case on E.P.A.’s Power to Limit Carbon Emissions
The New York Times cites CEI attorney Devin Watkins on the Supreme Court hearing a case on the EPA’s power to limit carbon emissions.
News Release
Supreme Court Will Review EPA Over-Reach on Energy Rule
The Supreme Court today has agreed to review the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeal’s rejection of the Trump administration’s repeal of the Clean Power Plan…
Comment
CEI’s Devin Watkins Comments on DOE’s Dishwasher Rulemaking
Hello, my name is Devin Watkins from the Competitive Enterprise Institute. It was CEI’s petition for rulemaking that caused the Department of Energy to create…
The Washington Examiner
OSHA Cannot Constitutionally Coerce People into Vaccinations
President Joe Biden says he will have federal regulators make employers require workers to get vaccinated against COVID-19, or else they’ll…
News Release
Supreme Court Strikes Down CDC Eviction Moratorium, Upholds Rule of Law
The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday struck down the nationwide eviction moratorium imposed by the Centers for Disease Control, which was ostensibly aimed at…
News Release
CDC Eviction Moratorium Back In Court After Biden Defies Supreme Court Ruling
On the heels of the CDC extending its eviction moratorium at the behest of the Biden administration, a group of realtor plaintiffs have asked the…
Blog
CDC’s Eviction Moratorium Extension Another Example of Ends-Justify-the-Means Policy
The Constitution requires all of Congress and the president to swear to uphold the Constitution. Yet, too often today, public officials of both parties ignore…
News Release
Everyone Loses in CDC Eviction Ban
In the wake of court rulings against the Centers for Disease Control nationwide eviction ban, the White House today called on Congress to pass an…
The Daily Press
Moderate Decisions Could Prompt GOP to Rethink Court Nominations
Justice Amy Barrett’s confirmation to the Supreme Court would spell doom for the Affordable Care Act, Roe v. Wade, and the 2015 Obergefell ruling on…
News Release
Supreme Court Ruling in California Donor Disclosure Case Protects Right of Association
The U.S. Supreme Court today ruled against California’s law requiring charitable organizations to disclose the identities of their major donors to the attorney general’s office.
NPR
The Supreme Court Throws Out a State Law Requiring Nonprofits to Name Rich Donors
NPR cites attorney Devin Watkins on the Supreme Court’s ruling against California’s law requiring charitable organizations to disclose the identities of their major donors to…
News Release
Supreme Court Ruling in Fannie/Freddie Case – Helpful on Questions of Presidential Removal Powers, Unhelpful to Shareholders
Today, the Supreme Court ruled on a much-anticipated case related to the federal government policy of seizing the net profits for government-sponsored entities Fannie Mae…
Blog
Supreme Court Requires Involvement of Principal Officers Before Final Decisions
Today, the Supreme Court issued a decision in United States v. Arthrex that has massive implications for the limits on the administrative state. It…
News Release
Supreme Court Ruling Could Impact Who Wields Government Regulatory Powers
The Supreme Court today ruled in United States v. Arthrex, Inc. that Administrative Patent Judges, in order to exercise unreviewable executive power, must be principal…
E&E News
NEPA may spur lawsuits over ANWR leasing freeze
E&E News cites attorney Devin Watkins on ANWR leases: But Devin Watkins, an attorney with the Competitive Enterprise Institute, suggested that affected companies could…
The Washington Times
Appeals Court Upholds Federal Eviction Moratorium
The Washington Times cites attorney Devin Watkins on an eviction moratorium issued by the CDC: Devin Watkins, an attorney with the Competitive Enterprise Institute,…
News Release
Supreme Court Should Decide on CDC Eviction Ban
Today a federal appeals court denied a request by landlords to resume evictions, leaving in place a temporary, nationwide eviction moratorium imposed by the Centers…
News Release
Biden Administration Move to Cancel ANWR Leases Raises Serious Legal Questions
The White House today announced it plans to cancel several leases for energy exploration in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) in Alaska. Director of…
The New York Times
Biden Suspends Drilling Leases in Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
The New York Times cites CEI Attorney Devin Watkins on ANWR leases: Conservative groups contend that Mr. Biden’s suspension of the leases may be…
The Washington Times
CDC Lacked Authority To Halt Evictions, Judge Rules
The Washington Times cites attorney Devin Watkins on the CDC and a nationwide eviction moratorium: Devin Watkins, an attorney for the Competitive Enterprise Institute…
News Release
Unlawful CDC Eviction Ban Defeated in Court
A federal judge today vacated a nationwide freeze on evictions imposed by regulators at the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) ostensibly to stave off one…
CNBC
It’s Time For Biden’s Financial Regulators To Face The Senate Spotlight
CNBC cites attorney Devin Watkins on President Joe Biden’s choice of Rohit Chopra to run the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau: “Rohit Chopra’s push while…
News Release
CEI Files Amicus Brief in Thompson v. Marietta Education Association Appeal for Cert at Supreme Court
The Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) filed an amicus brief in support of a petition for cert at the Supreme Court in the case…
Inside Sources
Counterpoint: Fix the Court, but Justice Should Not Be Random
Calls for “judicial reform” have too often been code for seeking changes to the courts for partisan advantage. This is why “reform” is rarely accomplished.
News Release
CEI and FreedomWorks Foundation Intervene to Protect Faster Dishwashers and Consumer Choice
The Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) and the FreedomWorks Foundation intervened today in lawsuits from eco-groups and their allies seeking to overturn a…
News Release
Senate Should Question Biden’s Choice to Head CFPB, Rohit Chopra, on Fair Process for Regulating Businesses
The Senate should question President-elect Biden’s nominee to head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau out of concern that businesses get fair treatment in the regulatory…
News Release
CEI Files Opening Brief in Case Seeking More Lenient CAFE standards
The Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) filed its opening brief in CEI v. NHTSA, contending the Department of Transportation (DOT) and the Environmental…
News Release
Energy Department Reforms #Neverneeded Regulations on Consumer Washers, Dryers, Showerheads
Today the U.S. Department of Energy issued a set of two new rules that, respectively, allow the sale of faster clothes washers and dryers…
Blog
Judge Rules in Favor of Retroactive Unapportioned Tax
In 2006, Charles and Kathleen Moore invested in a business aimed at providing affordable equipment to small-scale Indian farmers. No dividends have been returned to…
USA Today
Invalidate Entire Affordable Care Act
The fate of former President Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act is, once again, before the Supreme Court. On Tuesday, the justices will hear arguments in…