Blog
The FROGs are back: Will White House hop to it on guidance documents?
Donald Trump’s 2019’s Executive Order 13891, “Promoting the Rule of Law through Improved Agency Guidance Documents,” established online portals and inventories at…
Letters
CEI is in opposition to proposals that would raise taxes on carried interest investment income.
Dear Members of Congress, We the undersigned organizations write in opposition to proposals that would raise taxes on carried interest investment income. Carried interest is…
News Release
Constitutional challenge over spending power should be limited to executive powers – CEI analysis
Following his inauguration, President Donald Trump has made it known he intends to reduce federal spending. But a 1974 law called the Impoundment Control Act…
Op-Eds
Bill Would Prevent Banks From Discriminating Over Clients’ Ideology, But Here’s the Problem
The government shouldn’t pressure banks and other financial institutions to avoid doing business with politically controversial people and businesses, just as bakers should not be compelled…
The Daily Signal
5 Big Controversies Facing the Fed’s ‘Consumer Watchdog’ Agency as DOGE Eyes Its End
The Daily Signal cited CEI’s expert on the governments legal authority It will likely take an act of Congress to completely shut it down,…
Products
The Constitutionality of Presidential Impoundment
President Trump wants to cut federal spending, but the Impoundment Control Act of 1974 stands in his way. The law prohibits the president from reducing…
The Daily Signal
The Sneaky Way Government Unions Rake in Taxpayer Money, and How Congress Can Fight It in Reconciliation
The Daily Signal quoted CEI’s expert on budget reconciliation To drive the point home, Stern noted, “Your tax dollars quite literally go to pay for…
Blog
This week in ridiculous regulations: pillar coral and mailing cremains
President Trump blamed Ukraine for its invasion by Russia and called Volodymyr Zelenskyy a dictator. He also issued an executive order with potential to…
The Washington Free Beacon
Biden Environmental Justice Adviser Received Millions in Taxpayer Funds After Personally Applying For EPA Grant
The Washington Free Beacon cited CEI’s expert on Biden administration’s environmental justice initiatives. Daren Bakst, the director of the Competitive Enterprise Institute’s Center for Energy…
Punchbowl News
“FTC’s Tough Tech Tack Comes into Focus”
Punchbowl News covers the FTC’s newly aggressive approach to regulating big tech under Andrew Ferguson.
Blog
The SCRUB Act: Washing away Washington’s regulatory grime
The Searching for and Cutting Regulations that are Unnecessarily Burdensome (SCRUB) Act, introduced today by Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA), is a key step …
Joni Ernst
Ernst Makes President Trump’s Executive Action on Deregulation Permanent
Joni Ernst cited CEI’s expert on the SCRUB Act “The SCRUB Act and its Regulatory Cut-Go procedures mirror the new 10-for-one Trump architecture by requiring reduction that…
Blog
Lawsuit by Texas, Utah could change small reactor regulation
The states of Texas and Utah—along with Last Energy, a company that builds small modular reactors—are suing the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), arguing that it…
Letters
Urge to Protect Americans’ Digital Speech, Secure Encryption, and Data
Dear Secretary Rubio, Attorney General Bondi, Acting Secretary Pelter, and Director Kratsios, We write to urge you to take immediate action to protect Americans’ digital…
Reason
“Meet the New FTC—Same as the Old FTC”
Jack Nicastro from Reason looks at FTC Chair Andrew Ferguson’s decision to keep the 2023 Merger Guidelines.
Truth on the Market
“Antitrust at the Agencies: Private Anticompetitive Censorship Edition”
Dan Gilman with the International Center for Law & Economics discusses the FTC’s recent “Request for Public Comment Regarding Technology Platform Censorship.”…
Blog
Tossing gold bars off the Titanic is just the tip of the IRA iceberg
The Biden Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rushed to dole out billions of taxpayer dollars before President Donald Trump took office. A former Biden EPA official…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Defend yourself from debanking with Nick Anthony
In this week’s episode we discuss public confidence in the economy, California’s electric vehicle mandate, the prospect of a sovereign wealth fund…
Politico
Trump executive order requires sweeping review of federal regulations
CEI’s expert was cited on Politico federal regulations. But other conservatives were surprised the executive didn’t go further, including metrics for what success looks like.
News Release
Executive Order aims to fight overregulation and unlawfulness in federal agencies: CEI analysis
A new Executive Order signed by President Trump entitled “Ensuring Lawful Governance and Implementing the President’s ‘DOGE’ Regulatory Initiative,” aims to continue the Department…
Blog
Trump executive order puts independent agencies on a leash
President Trump’s new executive order, “Ensuring Accountability for All Agencies,” marks a major shift in regulatory oversight by bringing independent agencies…
Letters
CEI is in support of CRA on Medical Debt Rule
Dear Member of Congress, We are writing to express our concerns regarding the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s finalized rule on eliminating medical debt records from…
Bloomberg Law
“FTC ‘Click-to-Cancel’ Rule Overstepped Authority, Industry Says”
Bloomberg Law reports on the lawsuit challenging the FTC’s Click to Cancel rule.
Reason
“FTC Chair Throws Stones in a Glass House”
Jack Nicastro with Reason considers FTC Chair Andrew Ferguson’s decision barring political appointees in the agency from associating with the American Bar Association.
News Release
CEI applauds Sen. Ernst’s (R-IA) SCRUB Act
On Friday, U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) introduced the Searching for and Cutting Regulations that are Unnecessarily Burdensome (SCRUB) Act, which would task President…
Blog
Trump labor secretary pick backs right to work, disavows past support for union-tilted PRO Act
President Trump’s pick to be labor secretary, former Oregon Congresswoman Lori Chavez-DeRemer, disavowed her past support for the union-tilted …
Blog
CEI to Supreme Court: Please don’t let executive branch set tax rates
Yesterday, the Competitive Enterprise Institute filed an amicus brief urging the Supreme Court to recognize that only Congress has the authority to write the…
Blog
Trump says labor law cannot prevent him from cleaning house at labor umpire agency
President’s Trump’s letter firing National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Chairwoman Gwynne Wilcox and the NLRB’s general Counsel, Jennifer Abruzzo, makes the bold claim that…
Truth on the Market
“The FTC Shouldn’t Turn Back the Clock on Merger Analysis”
Brian Albrecht with the International Center for Law & Economics discusses FTC Chair Andrew Ferguson’s recent decision to keep the 2023 Merger Guidelines.
Forbes
Trump Moves To Repeal Burdensome NEPA Rules—What’s Next?
Blog
Animal personalities, individualism, and economics
One of my hobbies is finding economics in unexpected places. The biologist and animal rescuer John Shivik’s 2017 book Mousy Cats and Sheepish Coyotes: The…
Op-Eds
Trump’s New Executive Order Targets Independent Agencies
Blog
This week in ridiculous regulations: flax revenue and female test dummies
President Trump announced reciprocal tariffs. At this point it is uncertain how they would be implemented. Agencies issued new regulations ranging from butterfat testing to…
The White House
National Energy Dominance Council Paves Way for Unleashing American Energy
Legal Brief
CEI’s new brief to the U.S. Supreme Court: INTEREST OF AMICUS CURIAE
News Release
CEI Applauds Launch of President Trump’s National Energy Dominance Council
News Release
President Trump announces reciprocal tariffs, will worsen cost burden on consumers: CEI analysis
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Pivot or Die with Gary Shapiro
In this week’s episode we discuss corporate DEI mandates, financial surveillance at the Securities and Exchange Commission, medical fraud among Alzheimer’s…
Citation
Trump set a deadline on the endangerment finding. Here’s what might happen.
Blog
Goodbye to the roaring twenties of regulation? A cost roundup
The final Report to Congress on the Benefits and Costs of Federal Regulations from the Biden administration appeared January 15. Here at the middle…
Blog
Sovereign wealth funds: Should governments invest in private businesses?
President Trump recently signed an executive order to study creating a sovereign wealth fund for the US government. If the proposal comes to pass,…
News Release
Inflation rose 0.5 percent in January, foreshadowing Trump’s tariffs: CEI analysis
Blog
Trio of agencies scrap their climate disclosure mandate, SEC should take note
Prior to Inauguration Day 2025, the Department of Defense (DoD), General Service Administration (GSA), and National Aeronautics Space Administration (NASA) collectively withdrew a…
Blog
Big tech: threat or America’s best hope in global AI race? Questions for Trump antitrust appointees
Continued scrutiny of tech companies by antitrust authorities is expected under the Trump administration, with two new nominees awaiting confirmation to the Department of…
Citation
Kent Lassman on Deregulation Efforts
Blog
Free speech at risk: Why website blocking bill goes too far
Content creators have long complained about copyright infringing websites that deprive them of compensation. The Motion Picture Association claims infringement costs “hundreds of thousands…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Improving state finances with OJ Oleka
In this week’s episode we interview OJ Oleka, CEO of the State Financial Officers Foundation. We talk about how the new administration…
News Release
Tariffs on steel and aluminum will raise prices and hurt American manufacturing: CEI analysis
News Release
CEI-led coalition urges Congress to end Green New Deal policies embedded in the Inflation Reduction Act
The Competitive Enterprise Institute today sent a coalition letter to Congress urging lawmakers to make it a priority to get rid of the Inflation Reduction…
Letters
CEI leads coalition urging Congress to end the Inflation Reduction Act’s subsidies at the heart of the Green New Deal.
Blog
No, Virginia, there was no Amazon worker strike
The labor protests launched by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters against Amazon over the Christmas holiday were nothing more than a hollow …
Blog
This week in ridiculous regulations: Clothes dryers and nuclear reactors
It was a slow week for the Federal Register and a busy week for everything else. President Trump announced 25 percent blanket tariffs against Canada…
News Release
Trump EO on straws shows he gets frustration with anti-consumer policies: CEI analysis
Blog
Bill would delist Yellowstone grizzlies again
Last month, Rep. Harriet Hageman (R-WY) introduced legislation, the Grizzly Bear State Management Act, which directs the Secretary of Interior to delist the…
Truth on the Market
“Out with the Old Rules and in with . . . Something?”
Dan Gilman with the International Center for Law & Economics discusses recent FTC setbacks in court as well as former Chair Lina Khan’s push for…
News Release
January adds 143,000 jobs to the economy, labor market trends cooler: CEI analysis
The Daily Economy
Federal Agencies Stack Their Courts Against You
Winning a case against the federal government is difficult. Most federal agencies are well represented by an army of skilled attorneys. The Department of Justice…
Blog
We’re out of the Paris Agreement—again! How Trump can make it stick
On Inauguration Day (January 20, 2025), President Donald Trump withdrew the United States from the Paris Agreement, the global climate treaty negotiated by the…
Dr. Rand Paul
Dr. Rand Paul Introduces REINS Act to Put Power Back in the People’s Hands
Blog
Congressional Review Act can cancel three bad appliance regs
The Congressional Review Act (CRA) is the easiest way for Congress to block some of the bad regulations enacted under the Biden administration. A resolution…
Blog
House should support the Protecting American Energy Production Act
This week the House of Representatives is expected to consider the Protecting American Energy Production Act (H.R. 26), which was introduced by Rep.
Blog
Senate debanking hearing should focus on government’s role in politicizing finance
Today the Senate Banking Committee is holding a hearing on debanking, which is the phenomenon of individuals and businesses in certain industries and with certain…
Forbes
“The FTC Should Consider Ditching Antitrust Cases that Harm American Consumers”
Alden Abbott argues that the FTC should drop its two recent cases under the Robinson-Patman Act.
News Release
Bill capping credit card interest rates will curb consumer credit options: CEI analysis
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) today introduced legislation to cap credit card interest rates at ten percent, a plan that would have…
News Release
Delays and higher consumer prices incoming from US trade conflict with China: CEI analysis
President Trump’s ten percent tariffs on Chinese goods have been met with retaliatory tariffs by Beijing, indicating a trade war has begun. CEI’s senior economist…
WSJ Opinion
Tariffs Matter More Than Don Luskin Thinks
Donald Luskin argues that tariffs are “inherently small tax hikes because tariffs only apply to, at most, a base of $3.257 trillion—the total value of goods…
Blog
Agenda for Congress: Regulation
CEI’s new Agenda for Congress is out now. Each chapter contains pro-market policy recommendations in areas where CEI has expertise. Here are four principles…
Blog
Zero to prosperity? New Trump executive order is a good start
Donald Trump’s return to the White House has brought a wave of executive orders, including his new “Unleashing Prosperity Through Deregulation” directive. Building on…
Letters
CEI Joins Coalition Urging Reconsideration of Nippon Purchase of US Steel
Dear Mr. President: We respectfully ask you to reconsider the corrupt and flawed decision of your predecessor, President Joe Biden, to reject the purchase of…
Blog
The good, the bad, and the ugly in Trump’s new regulation executive order
President Donald Trump issued a new executive order on regulation Friday reviving some of the core ideas from his first term. The order brings…
News Release
Trump’s pick for acting CFPB director is good news for consumers & financial innovation
CEI Director of Finance Policy John Berlau praised President Trump’s pick to act as head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, following the firing of…
Blog
Trump’s unilateral tariffs: Time for Congress to do its job
Over the weekend, President Trump announced 25 percent tariffs against Canada and Mexico, though Canadian energy imports will face a lower 10 percent rate. He…
Blog
This week in ridiculous regulations: Automatic brakes and horse protection amendments
Sixty-seven people died when a military helicopter and a passenger jet collided near Reagan Airport. President Trump issued an Executive Order to stop all federal…
Blog
Agenda for Congress: Inflation
CEI’s new Agenda for Congress is out now. Each chapter contains pro-market policy recommendations in areas where CEI has expertise. Here are the ones…
Blog
Coinbase’s FOIA complaints against FDIC raise serious government transparency concerns
In the waning days of the Biden administration, whistleblowers and investigative journalists put forth alarming revelations of financial regulators jawboning banks to cut off services…
Restoring America
Trump must cancel CFPB censorship
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and tech entrepreneur Marc Andreessen dropped bombshells on the popular Joe Rogan Experience about political persecution from financial…
Blog
The One Agency Act, so hot right now
The 119th Congress has reignited old conversations regarding antitrust enforcement in the US. Namely, do we need two agencies to enforce the antitrust laws? Rep.
Letters
CEI scholars join economist letter urging Congress, Trump to reject trade tariffs
Today, we write this letter in a similar spirit of unity. While the professional economists who have signed today’s letter differ on many issues, we…
Blog
Agenda for Congress: Trade
CEI’s new Agenda for Congress is out now. Each chapter contains pro-market policy recommendations in areas where CEI has expertise. Here are the ones…
Blog
Hawley offers gift to union leaders, not workers
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) reportedly has proposed a “pro-worker framework for the 119th Congress” that amounts to a watered down wishlist of items wanted by unions leaders.
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Trump vs. the Regulatory State with Susan Dudley
In this week’s episode we cover how the feds are forcing your bank to spy on you, a new strategy for housing…
News Release
Fed maintains rates in first interest rate decision of the new year: CEI analysis
The Federal Reserve has announced that in the interest of fighting inflation, it will not cut rates at this time. CEI senior economist…
News Release
Transportation Sec Sean Duffy announces immediate review of CAFE standards: CEI analysis
CEI applauds U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy for directing the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to commence an immediate review and reconsideration of all…
Blog
Trump sketches out a battle plan on housing affordability
Housing affordability has become a front burner issue, and President Trump spared no time setting out his plan targeting the government regulations and red tape…
Daily Caller
It’ll Take More Than EOs For Trump’s Admin To Totally Slay Biden’s Mammoth ‘Whole-Of-Government’ Policy Push
Blog
A game-changing Trump executive order could nuke regulatory dark matter
In the wake of Donald Trump’s flurry of executive actions—including implementing a regulatory freeze, eradicating Biden’s diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies and staffing, and…
Blog
Regulators need to cool off and slow down their rulemakings
Rep. Harriet Hageman (R-WY) has reintroduced an important bill that would make the administrative rulemaking process fairer for the public. Known as the “Regulatory…
Blog
Trump follows Biden precedent in sacking NLRB general counsel
President Trump’s decision to fire National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Chairwoman Gwynne Wilcox and general counsel Jennifer Abruzzo is controversial and will likely be challenged…
Letters
CEI opposes efforts concerning price controls on credit cards
Dear Member of Congress: We, the undersigned organizations, oppose efforts to impose price controls on credit cards. Whether through the inaccurately named Credit Card…
The Independent Institute
Wind and Solar Tax Credits are Destroying the Grid
Rising power demand is revealing the fatal flaw in the increasing penetration of wind and solar on the grid. It’s time to admit that enough…
Forbes
A Banger Trump Executive Order Abolishing Regulatory Dark Matter
“[A] loathsome night-spawned flood of organic corruption more devastatingly hideous than the blackest conjurations of mortal madness and morbidity. Seething, stewing, surging, bubbling like serpents’…
National Review
The Federal Reserve’s New Debit Card Rule Threatens Consumers and Banks
While some lawmakers and regulators are targeting credit cards, the Federal Reserve has plans for your debit card. The likely result will be…
Blog
This week in ridiculous regulations: Paper packaging and de minimis imports
Presidents Biden issued a slew of executive actions on his way out of office. President Trump issued a slew of executive actions on his way into office.
Blog
What Trump has already done to advance sound energy policy
President Donald Trump has wasted no time in seeking to undo the harm of President Joe Biden’s energy and environmental policy. Through his presidential actions,…
Truth on the Market
“Lina’s Lingering Legacy?”
Dan Gilman with the International Center for Law & Economics explores the consequences of Lina Khan’s work at the FTC.
News Release
Trump EO on digital currency welcomes innovation in cryptocurrency
President Trump today signed a pro-digital currency executive order establishing a President’s Working Group on Digital Asset Markets, within the National Economic Council, aimed…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Able Americans with Rachel Barkley
In this week’s episode we cover Trump’s executive orders, the demographics of the 119th Congress, our nation’s narrowing fiscal space, reforms…
Blog
DOGE at a crossroads – An opportunity for real regulatory reform
The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) began with a promise to revolutionize Washington, bringing a chainsaw to government with sweeping regulatory and budget cuts. However,…
Blog
Cracks in the regulatory freezeout
On the first afternoon of his second term, President Donald Trump signed 46 executive orders. They included welcome tools for restraining the administrative state. Among…
Blog
Risks remain after Congress’s deregulatory net neutrality choice is affirmed
This past decade’s net neutrality saga recently received much needed clarity thanks to the federal 6th Circuit Court of Appeals. Its decision rules on the…