Circuit Court Lotteries a Symptom of Gridlock and Gamesmanship

The realities of Congressional gridlock were on full display Tuesday when a court clerk reached into a barrel and picked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit to hear the challenges to President Joe Biden’s shot-or-test rule for American workers.

Political stalemate has pushed recent presidents to flex their administrative powers and accomplish their policy priorities through agency rulemaking rather than legislative action. That‘s led to higher stakes litigation and Republicans are not only broadening their attacks on the size and reach of the federal government, they’re appealing to more conservative courts.

There were a flurry of lawsuits ...