Trump’s Two-For-One Regulatory Fiat Spurs Court Challenge
Image: WhiteHouse.gov
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Image: WhiteHouse.gov
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A lawsuit brought by two high-profile public advocacy groups and a prominent labor seeks to block the executive order signed by President Trump on Jan. 30 that directs federal agencies to repeal two federal regulations for every new rule they issue.
The plaintiffs, Public Citizen, the Natural Resources Defense Council and the Communications Workers of America, filed their complaint with the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on Feb. 8 to secure a ruling that would declare the executive order cannot be lawfully implemented and bar the agencies from implementing the order.
Trump’s order calls for new federal regulations to have a net cost of $0 this fiscal year, but without taking into account the value of the benefits of public protections, contend the plaintiffs.
The order on “Reducing Regulation and Controlling Regulatory Costs” was issued by Trump on January 30 and Interim Guidance on complying with it was issued by the White House’s Office of Management and Budget on Feb. 2.
Named as defendants in the suit are the president, the acting director of the Office of Management and Budget and the current or acting secretaries and directors of more than a dozen executive departments and agencies, including newly confirmed Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao.
The complaint holds that the agencies cannot lawfully comply with the president’s order because doing so would violate the very statutes under which the agencies operate as well as the federal Administrative Procedure Act.
“The Executive Order exceeds President Trump’s constitutional authority, violates his duty under the Take Care Clause of the Constitution, and directs federal agencies to engage in unlawful actions that will harm countless Americans, including plaintiffs’ members,” states the 49-page complaint.
The plaintiffs also argue these specific points in the complaint:
“The agencies’ governing statutes do not authorize agencies to repeal an existing regulation, weaken …Read the rest of this story
