Cite as: 538 U. S. 644 (2003)
Syllabus
only when a denial of enforcement is arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion, or otherwise unlawful. 5 U. S. C. § 706(2)(A). Pp. 674-675.
Justice Thomas concluded that Maine Rx is not pre-empted by the Medicaid Act. The premise of petitioner's pre-emption claim is that Maine Rx is "an obstacle to the accomplishment and execution of the full purposes and objectives of Congress." Hines v. Davidowitz, 312 U. S. 52, 67. The Medicaid Act represents a delicate balance between competing interests, e. g., care and cost. It grants States broad discretion to impose prior authorization, and proper consideration of the Secretary's role in administering the Act forecloses petitioner's pre-emption claim. The Act provides a complete list of the restrictions participating States may place on prescription drug coverage. 42 U. S. C. § 1396r- 8(d)(1). The only stricture on a prior authorization program is compliance with certain procedures, § 1396r-8(d)(5). The purpose of § 1396r- 8(d)(1) is its effect—to grant participating States authority to subject drugs to prior authorization subject only to § 1396r-8(d)(5)'s express limitations. In light of the broad grant of discretion to States to impose prior authorization, petitioner cannot produce a credible conflict between Maine Rx and the Medicaid Act. Given the Secretary's authority to administer and interpret the Medicaid Act, petitioner can prevail on its view that the Medicaid Act pre-empts Maine Rx and renders it void under the Supremacy Clause only by showing that the Medicaid Act is unambiguous or that Congress has directly addressed the issue. See Chevron U. S. A. Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc., 467 U. S. 837, 842. However, the Act's text cannot be read in such a way. Indeed, the Secretary has adopted an interpretation of the Act that does not preclude States from negotiating prices for non-Medicaid drug purchases. Obstacle pre-emption's very premise is that Congress has not expressly displaced state law and therefore not directly spoken to the pre-emption question. Therefore, where an agency is charged with administering a federal statute, as the Secretary is here, Chevron imposes a perhaps-insurmountable barrier to an obstacle pre-emption claim. Pp. 675-683.
Stevens, J., announced the judgment of the Court and delivered the opinion of the Court with respect to Parts I, II, III, and VI, in which Rehnquist, C. J., and O'Connor, Kennedy, Souter, Ginsburg, and Breyer, JJ., joined, an opinion with respect to Parts IV and VII, in which Souter, Ginsburg, and Breyer, JJ., joined, and an opinion with respect to Part V, in which Souter and Ginsburg, JJ., joined. Breyer, J., filed an opinion concurring in part and concurring in the judgment, post, p. 670. Scalia, J., post, p. 674, and Thomas, J., post, p. 675, filed opinions concurring in the judgment. O'Connor, J., filed an opinion concurring in part
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