A new estimate from a prominent public interest group shows the federal rules vulnerable to President-elect Donald Trump’s promises of a deregulatory spree are more limited than previously thought.
Public Citizen announced Thursday that the “look-back” window under the Congressional Review Act began Aug. 16 last year. That means rules finalized after that date by the Biden administration could be axed with support from the incoming president and simple majorities in the House and Senate.
It’s a scenario that Democrats, environmentalists and other progressive activists have dreaded since Trump pledged on the campaign trail to tear down the administrative state. The last time the president-elect was in office, he, along with GOP lawmakers, voided more than a dozen Obama-era regulations.
“As Republicans plot which industries to reward by throwing out worker, consumer, health, safety, and environmental protections, any reduction in their list of potential targets is welcome news,” Robert Weissman, co-president of Public Citizen, said in a statement.
