Inside Trump’s Takeover of the American Regulatory Machine

President Donald Trump has gotten involved in regulatory decisions big and small that once were made by independent agencies, dramatically shifting the balance of power across Washington and reordering how influence campaigns are waged. Political appointees by nature tend to be closely aligned with the president’s worldview. But former agency officials across administrations say it is highly unusual for presidents to be so intimately involved in the details of regulatory reviews. Previous presidents were careful to avoid the appearance of influencing agency decisions, typically making a point of not publicly weighing in on matters until reviews were complete. Congress over the years authorized certain agencies to operate independently from the White House to keep some key government functions separate from politics, most of them governed by bipartisan boards whose members can only be removed for cause.  A few weeks after returning to the White House, President Trump signed an executive order requiring independent agencies for the first time to submit major regulations to the White House budget office. President Trump has fired the Democratic commissioners at multiple agencies, including the FTC, whose five-member commission is down to just two members, both Republicans. The Supreme Court is revisiting the question of whether a president can remove such officials without cause. These days, companies are directly approaching the President instead of pleading their cases with staff or senior officials at the agencies.