First 100 Days: Deregulation Through Novel Uses of Old Tools
In the first 100 days of the Trump administration, both Congress and the White House have employed standard tools to enact quick deregulatory accomplishments.
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Cass R. Sunstein
Robert Walmsley University Professor, Harvard
OIRA Administrator Under President Obama
Featured: The Congressional Review Act
What it does
The Congressional Review Act (CRA) establishes procedures for Congress to overturn final rules issued by federal agencies. After an agency's rule is reported to Congress, members of Congress have 60 days to introduce a joint resolution disapproving of the rule. When signed into law, these resolutions of disapproval (RDs) overturn the rule in question and bar agencies from issuing a "substantially similar" rule. The CRA offers two unique mechanisms: the Senate "fast-track" procedures and the "lookback" period. For an in-depth discussion of these mechanics and more, see our Regulatory Insight A Lookback at the Law: How Congress Uses the CRA.
CRA Use Trending Upward for Both Major and Non-major Rules, 1996-2022
CRA Window Exploratory Dashboard
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This dashboard allows users to explore the set of final rules published in the Federal Register in 2024, and how various lookback dates could affect the set of rules available for congressional review at the beginning of the next session of Congress. View Dashboard.
Commentary:
Will History Repeat Itself? Forecasting CRA Use in a Second Trump Administration. Steve Balla and Sarah Hay, May 3, 2024. What policy areas are most likely to be challenged if Trump wins a second term in the 2024 presidential election?
Our Latest Publications
Cumulative Economically Significant Final Rules by Administration
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When is an Independent Agency Independent?
A new executive order may eliminate the independence of independent regulatory agencies.
Amid the Norm Smashing, Some Durability Remains
President Trump has issued dramatic deregulatory executive orders, but some normalcy remains.
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Joint Statement (PDF)
Senator Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ)
Senator James Lankford (R-OK)
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