Landor v. Louisiana Dept of Corrections and Public Safety · ¶36

Notice too where Mr. Landor’s theory would lead. Given the “explo[sion]” of Spending Clause legislation in recent decades, Medina, 606 U. S., at 373, Congress would enjoy an effectively unbridled police power. Federal authorities would have no need to show that their regulations represent proper exercises of Congress’s limited and enumerated powers found in the Commerce Clause, the Bankruptcy Clause, or any other. All they would have to show is that a recipient who consented to a funding condition spent some formerly federal money in transactions with a third party. Just like that, the federal government could directly regulate the third party’s conduct. Take some examples. On Mr. Landor’s theory, Congress could require coaches at universities that receive federal funds to permit transgender athletes to play women’s sports—or face personal liability in suits for damages. Likewise,…

slip opinion, revised 6/28/26
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