AFT President Randi Weingarten Slams Supreme Court Ruling in West Virginia v. EPA

WASHINGTON—American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten issued the following statement in response to today’s 6-3 Supreme Court ruling that the Environmental Protection Agency is prohibited from broadly regulating greenhouse gas emissions from power plants:

“Capping off this court’s radical term, today’s ruling makes clear that the extremist right-wing majority sees their role as broad, all-knowing and far-reaching: In addition to overturning long-settled precedent, they’ve now told the White House, Congress and administrative agencies that the court knows better when it comes to public policy that affects people’s lives. As Justice Elena Kagan says in her dissent, ‘The Court appoints itself—instead of Congress or the expert agency—the decision-maker on climate policy. I cannot think of many things more frightening.’

“Our nation’s climate crisis is urgent and real. Hobbling the Biden administration’s ability to address it is a dangerous ideological game that puts future generations at risk, particularly when most Americans support regulating pollutants. This overreach will have lasting consequences on the ability of the government to respond to the needs of working people in every aspect of their lives. Once again, an extremist Supreme Court has set a standard that allows it to decide what policies govern our citizens and blurs the line between our branches of government in a gross power grab that should concern every one of us.”