The famous passage from James Madison in the Federalist Papers, Essay 51—“If men were angels, no government would be necessary”—reveals where the problems lie with Chevron deference, the judicial doctrine that says that in certain cases courts should defer to the interpretation of law used by the executive branch. Chevron deference accords the executive branch angelic status, rather than recognizing that it is staffed by fallible men, and that results in some devilish behavior.
