According to the Wall Street Journal, the White House is said to be urgently strategizing to solidify President Joe Biden’s regulatory agenda, making it difficult for former President Donald Trump to overturn if he wins the 2024 election. Sources close to Trump have informed the WSJ that if he regains the White House, he intends to utilize the 1996 Congressional Review Act to nullify numerous regulations implemented during the Biden era. Meanwhile, senior officials in the Biden administration are reportedly taking measures to prevent Trump from making such alterations during his potential tenure in office, as they focus on shaping their own agenda for 2025.
“They’re all looking back to what happened in 2017 and thinking, ‘That could repeat itself in 2025,’” Steven Balla, the co-director of George Washington University’s Regulatory Studies Center said.
“When re-elected, President Trump will immediately cut Joe Biden’s burdensome regulations, unleash our domestic energy industry, and implement a pro-worker agenda that will uplift all Americans,” Trump campaign spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt added.
According to the Wall Street Journal, officials from the Biden administration have a deadline until the end of May to implement additional regulations before Trump can potentially reverse them. The Congressional Review Act grants Congress the authority to review policies and regulations established by the executive branch, particularly during a presidential transition period. If Trump were to be re-elected and Republicans gained control of Congress, they could target regulations introduced within 60 working days of the current session’s end. This has led to a sense of urgency within the Biden administration to push through as many regulations as possible this spring.
The CRA was rarely used until Trump’s presidency, with President George W. Bush successfully overturning regulations once. Trump utilized this power 16 times to undo Obama-era provisions, while Biden has already used it three times. Despite enacting various regulations as the 2024 election approaches, officials have clarified that this should not be interpreted as preparation for a potential loss.
Notable regulations include the Federal Trade Commission’s ban on non-compete clauses in April and the Department of Transportation’s new requirement for airlines to issue refunds for canceled flights.