Notes

II. Standard of Review

Ordinarily, Rule 56, Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (Rule(s)), governs the Court's review of a motion for summary judgment. Under that standard, “[t]he court shall grant summary judgment if the movant shows that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Rule 56(a). However, “when a party seeks review of agency action under the APA, the district judge sits as an appellate tribunal,” and “[t]he ‘entire case’ on review is a question of law.” Am. Bioscience, Inc. v. Thompson, 269 F.3d 1077, 1083 (D.C.Cir.2001). Thus, in such a case, the standard in Rule 56 does not apply. CS–360, LLC v. U.S. Dep't of Veterans Affairs, 101 F.Supp.3d 29, 32 (D.D.C.2015). *1350 Rather, “[s]ummary judgment is the mechanism for deciding whether as a matter of law the agency action is supported by the administrative record and is otherwise consistent with the APA standard of review.” Id. (internal alterations and quotation marks omitted).

The APA “sets forth the full extent of judicial authority to review executive agency action for procedural correctness.” FCC v. Fox Television Stations, Inc., 556 U.S. 502, 513, 129 S.Ct. 1800, 173 L.Ed.2d 738 (2009). Under the APA, a reviewing court must “hold unlawful and set aside agency action, findings, and conclusions found to be ... arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion, or otherwise not in accordance with law.”4 5 U.S.C. § 706(2)(A). Notably, “[t]he arbitrary and capricious standard is exceedingly deferential.” Defenders of Wildlife v. U.S. Dep't of Navy, 733 F.3d 1106, 1115 (11th Cir.2013) (internal quotation marks omitted). A reviewing court's role is to “ensure that the agency came to a rational conclusion, not to conduct its own investigation and substitute its own judgment for the administrative agency's decision.” Id. (internal quotation marks omitted). “In determining whether the agency acted arbitrarily and capriciously, [a court asks] whether the agency examined the relevant data and articulated a satisfactory explanation for its action.” Black Warrior Riverkeeper, Inc. v. U.S. Army Corps of Eng'rs, 781 F.3d 1271, 1288 (11th Cir.2015) (internal quotation marks omitted). An agency's action may be arbitrary and capricious:

where the agency has relied on factors which Congress has not intended it to consider, entirely failed to consider an important aspect of the problem, offered an explanation for its decision that runs counter to the evidence before the agency, or is so implausible that it could not *1351 be ascribed to a difference in view or the product of agency expertise.

Defenders of Wildlife, 733 F.3d at 1115. A court “should 'uphold a decision of less than ideal clarity if the agency's path may reasonably be discerned.' ” Black Warrior Riverkeeper, 781 F.3d at 1288. When reviewing the evidentiary basis for an agency's action, a court must uphold the agency's decision “unless the evidence not only supports a contrary conclusion, but compels it.” Abdille v. Ashcroft, 242 F.3d 477, 483–84 (3d Cir.2001); see also I.N.S. v. Elias–Zacarias, 502 U.S. 478, 481 & n. 1, 112 S.Ct. 812, 117 L.Ed.2d 38 (1992) (finding agency's determination can be reversed as unsupported by substantial evidence “only if the evidence presented ... was such that a reasonable factfinder would have to conclude that the requisite fear of persecution existed”).