A February 24 Executive Order (EO) from President Trump directs federal regulatory agencies to designate a Regulatory Reform Officer (RRO) to establish and oversee Regulatory Review Task Forces to review existing regulations. The review will focus on the identification of regulations that are unnecessary, negatively impact jobs or are not justified on a cost-benefit basis, among other criteria. Based on their reviews of specific rules, the RROs and Task Forces will “make recommendations to the agency head regarding their repeal, replacement, or modification, consistent with applicable law.”
This EO follows an earlier order issued by the administration requiring the elimination of two regulations for every new regulatory proposal. Taken together, these EOs lay the groundwork for the administration to follow through on promises to significantly reduce regulatory burdens across federal government agencies.