FCC v. Consumers’ Research

Decided June 27, 2025. Elena Kagan delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 24-354 · 606 U.S. 656 (2025) · Cited 12 times

Holding

The universal-service contribution scheme does not violate the Constitution’s nondelegation doctrine; Congress sufficiently guided and constrained the discretion that it lodged with the Federal Communications Commission to implement that scheme, and the FCC has retained all decision-making authority within that sphere, relying on the Universal Service Administrative Company only for non-binding advice.

The Court’s statement of the holding, from the opinion’s syllabus. The syllabus is prepared by the Reporter of Decisions and is not part of the opinion of the Court. Read the official opinion for authority.

How the Justices voted

Decided 6–3.

“Concurring” means agreeing with the outcome; any split shown is the Court’s judgment, not each Justice’s reasoning. The lineup is the syllabus’s disposition of who wrote and joined each opinion. Source: the opinion’s syllabus (supremecourt.gov).

Precedents cited

Supreme Court decisions this opinion relies on, ordered by how often it cites each. Cases in our collection link through; others are named.

• J. W. Hampton, Jr., & Co. v. United States · 276 U.S. 394 (1928)
• A. L. A. Schechter Poultry Corp. v. United States · 295 U.S. 495 (1935)
• National Cable Television Assn., Inc. v. United States · 415 U.S. 336 (1974)
• Whitman v. American Trucking Assns., Inc. · 531 U.S. 457 (2001)
• Sunshine Anthracite Coal Co. v. Adkins · 310 U.S. 381 (1940)
• Industrial Union Dept., AFL-CIO v. American Petroleum Institute · 448 U.S. 607 (1980)
• Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo · 603 U.S. 369 (2024)
• Mistretta v. United States · 488 U.S. 361 (1989)
• Panama Refining Co. v. Ryan · 293 U.S. 388 (1935)
• American Power & Light Co. v. Securities & Exchange Commission · 329 U.S. 90 (1946)
• Gundy v. United States · 588 U.S. 128 (2019)
• National Broadcasting Co. v. United States · 319 U.S. 190 (1943)
• West Virginia v. EPA · 597 U.S. 697 (2022)
• Wisconsin Bell, Inc. v. United States ex rel. Heath · 604 U.S. 140 (2025)
• Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer · 343 U.S. 579 (1952)
• Federal Power Commission v. Hope Natural Gas Co. · 320 U.S. 591 (1944)
• Myers v. United States · 272 U.S. 52 (1926)
• Carter v. Carter Coal Co. · 298 U.S. 238 (1936)
• At&T Corp. v. Iowa Utilities Board · 525 U.S. 366 (1999)
• Kingdomware Technologies, Inc. v. United States · 579 U.S. 162 (2016)
• Loving v. United States · 517 U.S. 748 (1996)
• Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly · 550 U.S. 544 (2007)
• United States v. Curtiss-Wright Export Corp. · 299 U.S. 304 (1936)
• Verizon Communications Inc. v. Federal Communications Commission · 535 U.S. 467 (2002)
• Interstate Commerce Commission v. Cincinnati, New Orleans & Texas Pacific Railway Co. · 167 U.S. 479 (1897)
• Moore v. United States · 602 U.S. 572 (2024)
• Ashwander v. Tennessee Valley Authority · 297 U.S. 288 (1936)
• Food & Drug Administration v. Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corp. · 529 U.S. 120 (2000)
• Immigration & Naturalization Service v. Chadha · 462 U.S. 919 (1983)
• Freytag v. Commissioner · 501 U.S. 868 (1991)

Official text

Read the official opinion (PDF, supremecourt.gov)

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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (2025). Citation count from the Free Law Project’s CourtListener bulk data. Data last verified 2026-08-15. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).