Partner Trent McCotter Argued Before the Sixteen-Judge En Banc Fifth Circuit
Washington, D.C. — Continuing the firm’s ongoing challenge to the legality of the FCC’s Universal Service Fund (USF), Boyden Gray PLLC Partner Trent McCotter today argued before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in Consumers’ Research v. Federal Communications Commission. Earlier this year, in a win for the firm and its clients, the Fifth Circuit granted an en banc rehearing in this case.
“The FCC’s Universal Service Fund is bankrolled by an unconstitutional tax raised and spent by an unaccountable federal agency, then delegated to a private corporation filled with self-described interest groups. Congress cannot delegate its taxing power, least of all via vague statutory aphorisms that impose no meaningful limitations on how much an agency can raise,” said McCotter. “The USF is paid by charges added to millions of Americans’ monthly phone bills and collects nearly $10 billion annually. The USF violates the nondelegation and private-nondelegation doctrines. We are continuing our fight to ensure the federal government respects the separation of powers demanded by the Constitution.”
This is the latest effort in the firm’s efforts against unlawful government overreach. Other recent victories include:
- Prevailing before the Fifth Circuit on behalf of physicians in Apter v. Dep’t of Health and Human Services, where the Court held that the FDA exceeded its statutory authority by recommending against certain medical treatments for COVID-19.
- Winning its challenge in Alliance to Fair Board Recruitment v. Weber, where a federal district court found that a California law mandating racial, ethnic, and sexual-orientation quotas in corporate boards violated the Fourteenth Amendment.
- Prevailing at the en banc Fifth Circuit in Feds for Medical Freedom v. Biden, which preserved a nationwide injunction against President Biden’s unlawful executive order mandating the vaccination of all federal employees. Over a dozen other lawsuits challenging that mandate had failed.
Boyden Gray PLLC provides clients with strategic counsel, regulatory engagement, and impact litigation on the most difficult issues across law, public policy, and politics. The firm advises clients—including corporations, shareholders, trade associations, and workers—across a range of sectors, including energy, financial services, healthcare, and nonprofit. Its attorneys are all experienced litigators, and the firm regularly represents clients before federal trial and appellate courts, including parties and amici before the Supreme Court of the United States.
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