Five Questions with Senator Sheldon Whitehouse

On Wednesday this week, the Supreme Court heard oral argument in Securities and Exchange Commission v. Jarkesy, one of several cases before the Court this term that may have tremendous impact on how and whether executive branch agencies are permitted to do their jobs. We’ve talked previously about two other cases where conservatives took aim at executive branch agencies:

• CFPB v. CFSA, which goes to whether the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau can continue its work to protect consumers

• Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, an effort to end a legal doctrine called “Chevron deference” that directs courts to defer to federal agency expertise, in other words, to let federal bureaucrats go about their work. Without Chevron deference, agencies’ ability to act to protect us in areas like the environment, health care, and national security could be severely impaired.

Our guest tonight for “Five Questions” is someone who is uniquely qualified to help us understand what’s at stake here. Sheldon Whitehouse represents Rhode Island in the United States Senate, where he serves as a senior member of the Judiciary Committee and the Chair of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Federal Courts, Oversight, Agency Action, and Federal Rights.  A former U.S. Attorney and Attorney General in Rhode Island, and a fierce defender of democracy, Whitehouse is a champion for ridding American politics of corrupting influences. He’s a force to be reckoned with. I stop what I’m doing whenever I see him about to ask questions of a witness in a Senate hearing, for the pure pleasure of knowing there is still intelligence and focus in our politics.

One of the Senator’s key concerns is combating special interest control of our politics and the courts. He is working to enact legislation to root out special interests and is pushing to enact stronger ethics and transparency standards in the Supreme Court, along with his work to shine a light on the dark-money influence over the judicial selection and confirmation process. It’s a real honor to have him with us today!

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