The Supreme Court just sided with conservatives in a major battle over federal power

The Supreme Court on Friday disrupted the balance of power in Washington, D.C., by overturning a 40-year-old precedent protecting federal agencies’ work.

The precedent, called the Chevron doctrine, instructed judges across the country to defer to federal agencies’ interpretation of the laws passed by Congress even when the agencies’ rules had no clear basis in the written text.

Friday’s ruling puts the onus on Congress to pass clearer, more specific policies, and gives individual Americans, as well as companies or religious organizations, more power to challenge the federal rules they take issue with.