The Regulatory Wrecking Ball

[Commentary] For all of President Trump’s boasts that he is a man of action, he is likely to close out his first 100 days with no major legislation to his credit. That may actually be for the best, since his most significant effort so far would have destroyed the Affordable Care Act. And yet, even without a big win, President Trump has done significant damage with smaller-bore measures, whose cumulative impact will be felt for a very long time. Specifically, he has signed into law 11 regulatory rollback measures, passed by Republican majorities using the Congressional Review Act — a law that lets lawmakers use fast-track procedures to repeal rules completed in the last six months or so of a previous administration. Two more repeal measures await Trump’s signature, and 20 that have been introduced in Congress could be passed before fast-track procedures expire. At least there will be no more ugly surprises, since the deadline for introducing new rollback measures under the Congressional Review Act passed on March 30. The wreckage has been extensive. Nor is the damage easily undone. When a regulation is repealed using the Congressional Review Act, agencies are blocked from issuing “substantially similar” rules without express authorization from Congress.