Thread by @GOPoversight

#THREAD: From Justice Thomas' #census dissent ⤵

"For the first time ever, the Court invalidates agency action solely because the it questions the sincerity of the agency's otherwise adequate rationale."

"It is not difficult for political opponents of executive actions to generate controversy with accusations of pretext, deceit, and illicit motives."

"Crediting these accusations on evidence as thin as the evidence here could lead judicial review of administrative proceedings to devolve into an endless morass of discovery and policy disputes not contemplated by the Administrative Procedure Act.”

"The evidence suggests, at most, that the Secretary had multiple reasons for wanting to include the citizenship question on the census."

"The Court's erroneous decision in this case is bad enough, as it unjustifiably interferes with the 2020 census. But the implications of today's decision are broader. With today's decision, the Court has opened a Pandora's box of pretext-based challenges in administrative law."

"In short, today's decision is a departure from traditional principles of administrative law. Hopefully it comes to be understood as an aberration--a ticket good for this day and this train only."

Read the full dissent here: supremecourt.gov/opinions/18pdf…