Little Sisters v United States became that inflection point around late 2013 to early 2014.

The mechanism: emergency injunctions against executive implementations.

The “switch” was not Congress changing SCOTUS authority. It was the Court becoming more willing to use existing tools:

* Supreme Court Rule 22 emergency applications

* All Writs Act (28 U.S.C. §1651)

* stay/injunction authority pending appeal

The important doctrinal shift was that the

Old model:

“We need to prevent irreversible harm while the courts finish deciding.”

Emerging model:

“We will temporarily block a major government policy while litigation continues.”

That distinction is what later became controversial.

Several forces converged:

ACA litigation created repeated emergency applications

The Affordable Care Act produced many disputes where:

* federal agencies were implementing rules,

* plaintiffs sought immediate relief,

* district courts and circuits disagreed.

Little Sisters (2013-2014) became THAT template, not the Clean Power Act of 2016.