Blue Brief 2025-2026

Thomas asserts, likely exceed Congress’s authority under the Commerce Clause . Although Thomas acknowledges that the Commerce Clause bestows the power to regulate “selling, buying, and bartering” across state lines, FIFRA regulates product labels regardless of whether those products are sold within state lines and likewise regulates how consumers use such products. Both exceed Commerce Clause authority, in Thomas’s view.

Moreover, the concurrence expresses skepticism that federal agency actions, as opposed to statutes, can preempt state law and also raises nondelegation questions related to FIFRA. The concurrence thus extends invitations to several lines of future litigation. It remains to be seen whether any of Justice Thomas’s overtures are accepted.

Natalie Jacewicz

UNIVERSITY OF SAN DIEGO SCHOOL OF LAW | Faculty Review of 2025-2026 U.S. Supreme Court Term | Page 16