Blog
Charting a glide path to overturn Biden regulations in the 119th Congress
As the 119th Congress and incoming Trump administration prepare to govern, one key weapon in their arsenal will be the Congressional Review Act (CRA) of…
Op-Eds
Targeting Digital Platforms
President Biden’s antitrust regulators have filed a pair of lawsuits targeting tech platforms, claiming they abuse their position as intermediaries between consumers and third parties.
Blog
Electric grid reliability at elevated risk, new report warns
The North American Reliability Corporation (NERC) released its 2024 Long-Term Reliability Assessment Tuesday. This report examines the challenges the power grid will face over the …
Blog
New England relies on oil to keep the Christmas lights on
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Changes in financial regulation and ESG with Hester Peirce
In this week’s episode we cover how Americans feel about their jobs, the minerals we’ll need to build the future, and lingering…
Blog
Department of Education bails out of student loan bailout
For the second time in the past month, the Biden administration withdrew a proposed rule that CEI had opposed. The Department of Education has…
RealClear
Trump’s Going Places With Energy, but Biden’s the Backseat Driver
RealClear cited CEI’s experts on the Inflation Reduction Act “The (Inflation Reduction Act) subsidies help to create constituencies that are going to fight hard to…
The Washington Times
Retail industry projects surge in post-Christmas regifting and returns
The Washington Times quoted CEI’s expert on regifting in the retail industry The problem is that regifting ‘can suggest a certain laziness on the part…
Blog
CFPB Unfairly Targets Zelle
As part of a last-gasp effort by the Biden administration to punish legal businesses it disapproves of, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has sued…
Yahoo Finance
Consumer protection agency closes the Biden era taking big swings
Yahoo Finance cited CEI’s financial expert on bad regulations “I can’t speak to the merits of every lawsuit, they’re filing them so fast,” said…
Citation
The Bark and Bite of DOGE
Fox News
Six household appliances that have taken heat from Biden’s crackdown on regulations
Fox News cited CEI’s expert on product quality “What these mandates – what these standards do is enforce a level of efficiency that doesn’t…
Blog
This week in ridiculous regulations: Marine ingredients and tips
The reconciliation bill process was more chaotic than usual. There were more than 100 new regulations this week, and more than 800 agency notices. The…
Forbes
Shutdowns Aren’t The Problem, They’re The Solution
Federal shutdowns—along with the debt limit like that the Republicans sought to extend in the American Relief Act (ARA)—may represent the last remaining…
Blog
Meta takes a unique approach to nuclear-powered data centers
Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, is soliciting bids from nuclear developers to deliver between one and four Gigawatts (GW) of nuclear capacity by the…
Blog
New Jersey should rethink its nuclear power ban
Right now, the state of New Jersey has a significant amount of offshore wind power planned for the near future. As part of its net…
Legal Brief
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURTFOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS AMARILLO DIVISION
PLAINTIFFS’ MOTION TO ALTER ORAMEND THE JUDGMENT UNDER F.R.C.P 59(E) Plaintiffs respectfully move under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 59(e) forthis Court to alter…
Legal Brief
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FIFTH CERCUIT
Plaintiffs- APPELLEES’/CROSS-APPELLANTS’PRINCIPAL AND RESPONSE Brief Certificate of Interested Persons Counsel certifies that the following listed persons and entities as described in the fourth…
Legal Brief
In the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
MOTION OF COMPETITIVE ENTERPRISE INSTITUTEFOR LEAVE TO FILE AN AMICUS CURIAE BRIEFIN Opposition to Defendants-Appellants’Emergency Motion For Stay Pending Appeal CERTIFICATE OF INTERESTED…
Blog
Time to downsize presidential power
Over at InsideSources, I have a syndicated column arguing that the presidency has grown too powerful. The best parting gift President Biden could give…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Mortgage market analysis with Mark Calabria
In this week’s episode we cover weaponization of financial regulation, the Kroger-Albertsons merger, and a spirited defense of ultra-processed foods. Our…
The American Spectator
Regulations’ Enormous Costs and DOGE’s Enormous Upside
The American Spectator cited CEI’s Ten Thousand Commandments Wayne Crews, author of the Competitive Enterprise Institute’s “Ten Thousand Commandments” study, produced a price tag that…
DC Journal
Counterpoint: Biden Should Reduce Presidential Power
The American experiment can be summed up in one big idea: don’t put too much power in one place. That is why the federal government…
Blog
Google case just the beginning of CFPB fintech power grab
There has been a bullseye on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ever since tech entrepreneur and venture capitalist Marc Andreessen called the agency out…
News Release
Fed cuts interest rates again, fewer cuts planned next year: CEI analysis
Today, the Federal Reserve announced that interest rates will be cut by 25 basis points, with an additional note that there will be fewer…
Forbes
Republicans’ Next Reconciliation Bill Should Include These Reforms
Republicans are already planning at least one, and possibly two, major budget reconciliation packages in the next Congress. Reconciliation bills allow lawmakers…
Truth on the Market
“Labor Antitrust: A Solution in Search of Evidence”
Geoffrey Manne and Brian Albrecht with the International Center for Law and Economics argue that more research is needed before expanding the use of labor-market…
News Release
Minnesota’s cautionary environmental permitting history: CEI report
Lawmakers in Minnesota, including former Gov. Mark Dayton, have made environmental permitting reforms to make the system efficient and effective. These reforms, noted in a…
Study
Feeling Minnesota
Minnesota’s efforts to streamline environmental permitting under former Gov. Mark Dayton (D) initially saw some success, with reforms aimed at reducing approval times for priority…
The Daily Caller
Biden’s Parting Shot At Energy Companies Won’t Tie Trump’s Hands
The Daily Caller cited CEI’s expert on climate cases Devin Watkins, an attorney for the Competitive Enterprise Institute, said he doubts that the recent filings…
The Federalist Society
Court Holds the Corporate Transparency Act Is Unconstitutional: A Victory for Limited Government and the Right to Privacy
Earlier this month, a federal district court judge issued a preliminary injunction against the enforcement of the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA), a law that requires new…
Comment
Improving Accreditation Process and Strengthening Legal Education
RE: Improving Accreditation Process and Strengthening Legal Education Requirements for Accredited Agents and Attorneys, 89 Fed. Reg. 82546 (Oct. 11, 2024), Docket VA-2024-OTHER-0022-0001 (to be…
Blog
Biden’s Fall 2024 Unified Agenda of regulations: The numbers, trends, and what’s next
The Biden administration’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB) dropped the Fall 2024 Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions this past weekend.
Blog
Nice dock. Big shame if you modernized it, Trump warns ports
President Trump has signaled that if East Coast dockworkers go on strike, he will back them instead of the ports. This increases the odds that…
Blog
This week in ridiculous regulations: Natural grass marketing and arms trafficker registration fees
The 2024 Federal Register surpassed 100,000 pages for the first time ever, and the number of new regulations on the year passed 3,000. Agencies issued new regulations ranging…
Marketplace
Court rules Nasdaq diversity initiative illegal
“The SEC has recently been trying to use its powers to force companies to provide more information than companies normally provide to investors,” said Devin…
Forbes
White House Releases Fall 2024 Unified Agenda Of Federal Regulatory And Deregulatory Actions
Federal departments and agencies have highlighted their rulemaking priorities in the (usually) twice yearly Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions since the early 1980s. This…
News Release
CEI leads coalition urging legislators to address permitting reform in the 119th Congress
Letters
CEI Coalition Letter on Permitting Reform in the 119th Congress
Dear Members of Congress: The undersigned organizations strongly believe that our nation needs across-the-board federal permitting reform. This requires amending the National Environmental Policy Act…
Forbes
“The FTC Takes Action to Raise Wine and Spirit Prices”
Alden Abbott discusses the FTC suit against Southern Glazer’s Wine and Spirits under the Robinson-Patman Act.
Reason
“Mark Meador’s Nomination to the Federal Trade Commission Is Bad News for Consumers”
Jack Nicastro with Reason raises concerns over Trump’s FTC pick.
Foodfix
How to reform infant formula policy, according to Project 2025
FoodFix quoted CEI’s CEO & experts on formula policy according to project 2025 The Project 2025 vision: Until this crisis hit, there wasn’t much debate about…
Blog
Congress shouldn’t rely on incomplete FTC PBM study
Lawmakers are making a last-minute push to regulate the practices of pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) during the lame duck session. However, it would be a…
Reason
“Kroger-Albertsons Merger Halted by the Federal Trade Commission”
Jack Nicastro with Reason discusses the recent scuttling of the merger between grocery chains Kroger and Albertsons.
ITIF
“The FTC’s Social Media Data Practices Report Is a House of Cards Built on False Assumptions and Unsubstantiated Claims”
Alex Ambrose with the Information Technology & Innovation Foundation explains why the FTC’s report on social media data practices misses the mark.
Blog
Proposed student loan bailout rule makes no sense
As the Federal Register approached its previous record of 95,894 pages in a year (set in 2016), the Biden administration devoted a few more…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Tax and budget showdown 2025 with Erica York
In this week’s episode we cover new climate disclosure rules for public companies, the case against price controls on credit card networks,…
The National News Desk
Sticky inflation, Trump bring obstacles to Fed’s path to lowering rates
“While the Fed would like to cut interest rates, if they really want to signal seriousness about inflation and they want to build up that…
News Release
Report: FTC used insufficient analysis in its investigation of Pharmacy Benefit Managers
A new Competitive Enterprise Institute report delves into major problems with a Federal Trade Commission report critical of Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs). PBMs are specialized…
Study
FTC Flunks Interim Report
News Release
Senate stops Biden’s partisan NLRB maneuver, paving the way for Trump nominee
The Senate on Wednesday blocked President Biden’s attempt to re-nominate the Democrat chair of the National Labor Relations Board, Lauren McFerran. CEI labor policy expert…
The Foundation for Research on Equal Opportunity
The Politics of Freedom & Progress in 2028 at Freedom & Progress 2024
CEI’s Kent Lassman speaks on The Foundation for Research on Equal Opportunity discussing the politics of freedom & progress panel.
News Release
The fight against inflation continues after November’s CPI report: CEI analysis
News Release
Kroger-Albertsons merger blocked by federal judge: CEI analysis
Today, a federal judge sided with the Federal Trade Commission in its lawsuit to stop a merger between Kroger and Albertsons. CEI experts weigh in…
Blog
Schumer moves to lock in place Democrat-majority labor board
Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer is attempting to ensure that the Democrats retain control of the National Labor Relations Board, the…
Wall Street Journal
“Trump Aims to Remake Federal Trade Commission with Two Picks”
The Wall Street Journal reports on President-elect Trump’s pick to elevate Andrew Ferguson to chair of the agency and his nomination of Mark Meador as…
Real Clear Markets
“The FTC Will Derail Trump’s Presidency, If He Lets It”
Jon Decker with the Parkview Institute implores the Trump Administration to learn from Lina Khan’s mistakes.
Letters
The U.S. International Trade Commission nominations
Dear Chairman Wyden and Ranking Member Crapo: We the undersigned organizations write to urge you to expeditiously process the following bipartisan slate of qualified nominees…
Blog
Can Trump’s DOGE team outmaneuver regulatory dark matter?
As Donald Trump prepares for a second term, his administration inherits a far more expansive regulatory state than it did in 2017. As explored today…
Blog
DOL heeds CEI’s advice on apprenticeship rule
Rather like its chief, the Biden administration has moments of lucidity. When that occurs, it is entitled to a measure of praise. Praise, and perhaps…
Fox News
‘Gov’t knows best’: Biden admin breaks Obama record for filling Federal Register with most regulations
Fox News quoted CEI’s expert on Federal Register record “Federal Register page counts are a highly imperfect gauge of regulatory burden. Biden’s milestone,…
Blog
CEI submits comments on latest Biden administration dishwasher proposal
The Biden administration’s efforts targeting gas stoves received a lot of attention in 2023 and sparked an angry public backlash, but many other major…
Blog
John Deere is the FTC’s latest corporate boogeyman
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has been investigating John Deere’s repair offerings for over three years now, as revealed in a filing made public…
Comment
Department of Energy, Energy Conservation Program: Energy Conservation Standards for Dishwashers. Comments of the Competitive Enterprise Institute
Comments of the Competitive Enterprise Institute I. SUMMARY The Notification of Proposed Confirmation of Withdrawal and Request for Comment (proposal) seeks to terminate Department…
Washington Examiner
Trump will need to hire new federal workers for trade war, former Cabinet member says
The Washington Examiner CEI’s expert on how Trump’s trade policy might be at odds with the DOGE mission. Ryan Young, senior economist at the libertarian Competitive…
Blog
This week in ridiculous regulations: Lime emissions and stabilizing the Western Balkans
The 2024 Federal Register set a new all-time record page count on December 3. It surpassed 2016’s record of 95,894 pages with nearly a month to spare. Syria’s dictatorship…
Des Moines Register
Elon Musk’s DOGE can learn from Iowa’s bold government overhaul | Opinion
Iowa has started some regulatory reforms that set a good precedent for President-elect Donald Trump’s newly announced Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to be headed by…
Letters
CEI Joins Coalition Letter Against Court Packing
In recent years, the legitimacy of the Supreme Court as an impartial institution and non-political branch under our Constitution—exercising “neither force nor will but merely…
City Journal
Unions’ Choice
At first glance, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick of one-term congresswoman Lori Chavez-DeRemer to serve as Labor secretary is mystifying. The former congresswoman seemingly …
Yahoo News
John Berlau, a senior fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, says the “supposed purpose” of this crackdown is to “prevent banks from doing business with…
Blog
Kerry’s statements reflect the moral failings of climate extremism
Last week, John Kerry told a Harvard audience how he thinks we need to address climate change: “We need to get people to…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: The value of work with David Bahnsen
News Release
Economy adds 227,000 jobs in November, suggesting a steady labor market: CEI analysis
Today’s labor report for November suggests a steady job market, with 227,000 jobs being added to the economy last month. Considering the report, the…
The Daily Economy
The Debanking Craze Reveals Everything Wrong with the Administrative State
After an appearance by financier Marc Andreessen on the Joe Rogan Podcast, Elon Musk’s X exploded with indignation that tech entrepreneurs were being debanked owing to…
Blog
US businesses brace for a triple climate disclosure burden
Thousands of US companies—both public and private—are bracing for an expensive wave of climate disclosure mandates. If regulators in the US and abroad have their…
News Release
North Carolina’s deregulatory approach to environmental permitting reform
A new Competitive Enterprise Institute report highlights North Carolina’s commitment to significantly reforming its environmental permitting system. The reforms, which focused on accelerating project approvals…
News Release
Report: SEC climate disclosure rule complicated by EU, California
A new Competitive Enterprise Institute report explains the problem businesses face complying with complicated, disparate climate disclosure rules imposed by multiple governments – the federal…
News Release
Biden Labor Department withdraws controversial apprenticeship rule opposed by CEI
On November 27, the Biden administration withdrew the Department of Labor’s proposed rule imposing costly, burdensome requirements on everyone involved in federal apprenticeship programs.
Study
Basketball vs. Bureaucracy
North Carolina’s permitting reforms in recent years have significantly reshaped the state’s regulatory landscape, focusing on accelerating project approvals and reducing bureaucratic delays. Key changes…
Study
Climate Disclosure’s Triple Threat
Introduction Financial regulators from the US federal government, California, and Europe have each recently adopted climate disclosure rules for companies. These environmental, social, and governance…
News Release
Trump nominee for SEC will refocus agency on core mission
President-elect Trump has nominated prior SEC commissioner Paul Atkins as chair of the agency, a move that CEI Director of Finance Policy John Berlau believes…
Blog
Biden breaks Federal Register record
Joe Biden’s administration has set a new Federal Register record with 96,088 pages as of December 3, 2024, surpassing the Obama administration’s 95,894 pages in…
Letters
Post-Chevron Suggestions for Congress
Dear 118th & 119th Congress,On June 28, 2024, in Loper Bright v. Raimondo, the United States Supreme Court overturned the 40-year-old Chevron doctrine, which granted…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Big tech, antitrust, and the courts with Patrick Hedger
In this week’s episode we cover the DOGE effort to reform government spending, review survey results about US transportation choices, and…
Washington Examiner
Biden did it: Most regulation-filled Federal Register ever at 96,088 pages
Washington Examiner cited CEI’s expert on the final number of regulation pages in the Federal Register for Biden’s term Clyde Wayne Crews, the…
Reason
Abolish the Securities and Exchange Commission
Reason cites CEI’s expert on the magnitude of SEC compliance costs Besides, the costs of SEC compliance are staggering. Looking at the climate disclosure rule…
Blog
CEI has warned about debanking for 20+ Years – We were right
Over the last week, millions of Americans were exposed to the idea that their government has been encouraging banks to withdraw financial services from American…
Blog
Fred Smith and the Hourglass of Market Evolution
Our much–loved CEI founder Fred L. Smith Jr. would often insist that we not refer merely to antitrust or antitrust policy, but…
Comment
Student Debt Relief Comment
Re: Student Debt Relief Based on Hardship for the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program, the Federal Family Education Loan Program, the Federal Perkins…
E&E News
Trump win puts endangerment finding in the crosshairs
E&E News cited CEI’s expert on EPA regulations Daren Bakst, a senior fellow and director of the institute’s Center for Energy & Environment, said he…
E&E News
Chris Wright and Sean Duffy hold the keys to Trump’s EV plans. How far will they go?
E&E News quoted CEI’s expert on federal EV support Daren Bakst, an energy and environmental analyst at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, outlined one possible approach…
Blog
This week in ridiculous regulations: Milk marketing and sport fishing
It was a shortened week on account of Thanksgiving. Agencies issued new regulations ranging from fed cattle to general service lamps. On to the data: • Agencies issued 57 final regulations last week,…
Law and Liberty
Milton Friedman’s Revenge
It’s rapidly becoming the received wisdom that an important reason President Trump won the 2024 election was because inflation matters. Too many hard-working…
Wall Street Journal
A Thumb on the Scale for Wegovy
The Biden administration announced one more bit of executive overreach on its way out the door. On Nov. 26, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid…
National Review
Please, Somebody Google ‘Hubris’
The pretense of knowledge is on full display in the Department of Justice’s proposed remedies for the Google trial. The government’s…
City Journal
Defying Administrative Tyranny
Over Ruled: The Human Toll of Too Much Law, by Neil Gorsuch and Janie Nitze (HarperCollins, 304 pp., $25.60) It’s daunting…
National Review
“It Is Time for One Agency to Enforce Antitrust”
James Edwards with the Committee for Justice explores the benefits of the One Agency Act, which would strip the FTC of its antitrust authority.
Reason
Return of the ‘Tariff Man’
Reason writes in memoriam of CEI’s founder passing In Memoriam: Fred Smith, the quirky and brilliant founder of the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI), passed away…
Blog
Circuit Courts split over the SEC’s regulatory treatment of proxy advisors
The Fifth and Sixth Circuits are currently split over the legality of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) Proxy Advisory Rule. Depending on what…
Blog
Republicans shouldn’t do anything lame in the lame duck
Next year is looking good for Republicans at the federal level. Control of the House, Senate, and the White House is a recipe for legislative…