Gray Matters

In this final panel from the Gray Center’s October conference, moderator Aaron Nielsen (UT Austin) speaks with Judge Naomi Rao (D.C. Circuit) and Judge Steven Menashi (Second Circuit) about their role as judges after Loper Bright ended Chevron deference. Rao and Menashi describe their interpretive approaches—text-first, but attentive to context, structure, statutory purpose, and legal terms of art—and emphasize that interpretation involves judgment. They argueLoper Bright largely restores courts’ independent duty to decide questions of law under the APA, while still allowing agencies discretion where statutes leave open-textured implementation choices or explicit delegations. The panel discusses D.C. Circuit practices, post–Loper Bright arguments about expertise, “express delegation,” Skidmore, forum shopping, major questions doctrine, scientific complexity, and how the debate may shift toward Article I and nondelegation.

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The third panel discussion from the Gray Center’s Fall 2025 conference featuring:
Noah Phillips, Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP
Matt Stoller, American Economic Liberties Project

Moderator:
Senior Judge Douglas Ginsburg, D.C. Circuit

Jace Lington and Bennett Nuss chat with Chad Squitieri about his new paper, Congress in the Mouth of a Lawyer, which focuses on the president’s role in the lawmaking process. Prof. Squittieri discusses the constitutional role of the president in lawmaking, the importance of precise definitions of Congress, and implications for judges interpreting statutes. He explores how understanding the president's involvement influences legal doctrines and the separation of powers.

The second panel discussion from the Gray Center's Fall 2025 conference featuring: 

Sarah Binder, Brookings Institution
Jonathan Macey, Yale Law School
Aaron Nielson, University of Texas

Moderator:
Adam White, C. Boyden Gray Center

The first panel discussion from the Gray Center's Fall 2025 conference featuring: 
James Burnham, King Street Legal, and formerly of the U.S. Department of Government Efficiency

Susan Dudley, former Administrator, White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs; Founder & Senior Scholar, GW Regulatory Studies Center; Distinguished Professor of Practice, Trachtenberg School of Public Policy & Public Administration

Lisa Heinzerling, Georgetown University Law Center

Moderator: Mene Ukueberuwa, Wall Street Journal