EPA And DOJ Cannot Sugarcoat This: SCOTUS Stays The Clean Power Plan

Yesterday, the Supreme Court stayed EPA's Clean Power Plan rule.  No matter how much EPA and DOJ proclaim that this says nothing about the ultimate results on the merits, the CPP is on very shaky ground at this point.

Everyone, supporters and opponents alike (and yours truly), thought that there was no possibility that the Court would grant a stay. And it is precisely because a Supreme Court stay of a rule pending judicial review is such an "extraordinary" – to use DOJ's own word – form of relief that one has to conclude that five justices have decided that the rule must go.

This isn't just a preliminary injunction; it's a preliminary injunction on steroids. First, everyone seems to acknowledge that it's unprecedented for the Supreme Court to stay a rule pending judicial review. Second, the standards in DOJ's own brief make pretty clear that a stay will only issue if the Court is pretty convinced on the merits. Finally, it's worth noting that the Court implied