Overview
- The New York Times in April 2026 published 16 pages of internal Supreme Court memos from February 2016 that detail how the justices, by a 5–4 vote, briefly froze the Obama administration’s Clean Power Plan before any ruling from the D.C. Circuit.
- The documents show Chief Justice John Roberts urging swift intervention and citing an industry‑funded NERA study that pegged compliance costs as extremely high, a point Justice Sonia Sotomayor flagged as a likely biased view.
- The stay came through the emergency docket, a fast process with limited briefing and no oral argument, which critics call opaque while defenders say it followed long‑standing stay factors even if the question—halting a sweeping rule pre‑appeal—was new.
- Reaction has split along familiar lines, with liberal commentators focusing on partisan motives and industry influence, and right‑leaning analysts arguing the memos reflect routine deliberation; some legal experts now cast the leak itself as a bid to damage the Court.
- The 2016 order helped keep the Clean Power Plan from ever taking effect and, alongside the Court’s 2022 West Virginia v. EPA ruling, has narrowed EPA authority, while the growing use of emergency orders has shaped major policies and spurred new calls for transparency.