The Washington Examiner
Kevin Warsh set up for failure with Powell staying on and markets expecting rate hike
The Washington Examiner cites senior economist Ryan Young on the Fed and the Department of Treasury. Ryan Young, senior economist at the Competitive…
Blog
The week in regulations: Marine terminal fires and marijuana rescheduling
The Federal Reserve held interest rates steady, and outgoing Chairman Jerome Powell will remain on the Fed’s Board of Governors when Kevin Warsh takes…
News Release
Fed keeps a hold on interest rates for now, debate on balance sheet a highlight for next Fed Chair-hopeful Warsh: CEI analysis
The Federal Reserve has decided to keep interest rates steady, aligning with economists’ and financial analysts’ predictions. With the Senate Banking Committee voting…
News Release
Foreign automakers’ threat to exit US market illustrates Trump tariff consequences
Foreign automakers are reportedly threatening to pull their most affordable models out of the US market if terms of the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement aren’t renewed.
Blog
The week in regulations: Pipeline safety and NFL Draft security
Federal Reserve Chair nominee Kevin Warsh had his confirmation hearing, and President Trump dropped his criminal investigation into Jerome Powell. The government is poised…
News Release
Fed Chair nominee Warsh has mixed signals in Senate hearing
Kevin Warsh’s confirmation hearing for Federal Reserve Chair in the Senate today prompted questions about future Fed policies. While his testimony had promising signals,…
Blog
The week in regulations: Drone settlements and gambling losses
The 2026 Federal Register topped 20,000 pages. President Trump got into a feud with the Pope. Agencies issued new regulations ranging from mail standards…
Study
Questions for Kevin Warsh
Kevin Warsh is President Trump’s choice to succeed Jerome Powell as the Chair of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. Warsh’s…
Blog
The week in regulations: Spinach proteins and seat belt reminders
The Artemis II mission landed safely after orbiting the moon. Inflation took a huge jump in March from the Iran war’s effects on energy…
Blog
Ten Thousand Commandments 2026 is out now
Today is release day for this year’s edition of Wayne Crews’ Ten Thousand Commandments. This year also marks the 30th anniversary of CEI’s…
Blog
The week in regulations: Lead paint and mailing firearms
Gas prices topped $4.00 per gallon. The one-year anniversary of President Trump’s Liberation Day tariffs was solemnly observed. Trump fired Attorney General Pam Bondi.
Blog
One year of Liberation Day
Today marks one year since President Trump’s Liberation Day press conference in the White House Rose Garden. Trump declared a national emergency because Americans…
Blog
The week in regulations: Resettling refugees and sea otter casualties
TSA lines reached their longest-ever wait times, bolstering the case for privatizing airport security. President Trump’s signature will appear on US currency starting later…
Blog
The week in regulations: Library pictures and aerobatic airplanes
The Iran war entered its fourth week. ICE agents might be reassigned to airport security. The Federal Reserve held interest rates steady. President Trump…
News Release
Federal Reserve keeps interest rates steady, higher inflation likely to continue: CEI analysis
The Fed has decided to keep interest rates steady, with inflation still too high to warrant rate cuts. With Fed Chairman Jerome Powell’s…
Blog
Idaho’s successful regulatory reform
Over at National Review, my colleague Hayden Stolzenberg and I examine some of Idaho’s recent regulatory reforms, as outlined in a recent CEI…
Op-Eds
Sunset for Regulations, Sunrise for Opportunity
Affordability is the big concern in households across the country, yet politicians are overlooking one big solution: regulatory reform. Federal regulations drive up the price…
Blog
The week in regulations: Music royalties and avocado maturity
The Iran war continued to raise oil prices. The Trump administration took steps to raise tariffs under Section 301 of the 1974 Trade Act,…
Blog
Good and bad trade news: Jones Act suspension, but more tariffs on the way
Two conflicting bits of trade news came out yesterday. The good news is that the Trump administration is considering temporarily suspending the Jones…
News Release
Inflation increases in February, predates new soaring energy prices: CEI analysis
The Consumer Price Index report for February shows a 0.3 percent increase across all sectors. The increase predates the escalation in the Middle…
Blog
The week in regulations: Shellfish inclusion and paper manifest sunsets
The labor force shrank by 92,000 jobs in January. Oil prices spiked. Twenty-two state attorneys general filed a lawsuit against President Trump’s Section 122…
News Release
92,000 jobs were lost in February, turbulent labor market continues: CEI analysis
The latest Bureau of Labor Statistics’ report shows 92,000 jobs were lost in February, indicating a turbulent labor market. Given today’s report, attention…
Blog
The week in regulations: Fusion machines and suspicious health care
President Trump launched a preemptive war with Iran, leading many to question the true worth of the FIFA Peace Prize. The 2026 Federal Register…
Newsweek
Expert Warns Tariff Refunds Could Hurt US Wallets as FedEx Launches Lawsuit
Blog
The week in regulations: Grandfathered driver vision and socializing dogs
The Supreme Court declared President Trump’s IEEPA tariffs unconstitutional. The White House responded by enacting a 15 percent global tariff under a different statute.
News Release
Supreme Court curtails runaway presidential tariff powers: CEI comment
The Supreme Court today ruled today in Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) does not authorize the president to…
Trib Live
Tariff ruling bolsters Supreme Court’s credibility in eyes of Duquesne President Ken Gormley
Trib Live cited CEI’s expert on business Major corporations have sought legal counsel in anticipation of filing lawsuits to secure these payouts,…
Citation
Trump’s New Tariff Plan Faces a Complicated Future In Congress
Notus cited CEI’s expert on tariffs and trade “The administration was expecting this decision to come out and strike down the 1977 IEEPA…
Citation
‘Just the beginning of enormous growth’: White House heralds strong jobs report
The Black Chronicle cited CEI’s expert on job growth in healthcare Senior Economist with the Competitive Enterprise Institute Ryan Young also interpreted…
National Today
Cooling Inflation Faces Test as Stubborn Costs Linger
New York Today cited CEI’s expert on Tariffs & Trade. “The trouble is that most of what America imports is inputs for other…
News Release
Inflation rose 0.2 percent in January, year-over-year numbers still above Fed’s target rate: CEI analysis
The Consumer Price Index report for January shows inflation rose 0.2 percent, lower than economists’ predictions. Inflation year-over-year remains above the Federal Reserve’s…
News Release
January adds 130,000 jobs, economists still cautious: CEI analysis
The economy added 130,000 jobs to the economy in January, exceeding economists’ expectations. While the news isn’t bad, lingering uncertainty regarding President Trump’s…
Blog
The week in regulations: Beet food coloring and crab housekeeping
Culture warriors got upset over the Super Bowl halftime show. A mini-shutdown over ICE funding delayed some labor market indicators. Agencies issued new regulations…
NPR
Warming your house the green way just got more expensive
NPR cited CEI’s expert on energy efficiency “A lot of the people who are installing solar panels and adding insulation to their…
Blog
The week in regulations: Reimagining education and underground mines
Kevin Warsh is President Trump’s nominee for the next Federal Reserve chairman. The Fed held interest rates steady at its most recent…
News Release
Trump’s pick for Fed chair spurs doubt on key issues
President Trump has decided on a nominee for the next Federal Reserve chair – Kevin Warsh, financier, bank executive, and former Federal Reserve Board…
News Release
Fed stays the course on fighting inflation and proving its independence: CEI analysis
The Federal Reserve has decided to not move interest rates, an expected decision that signals the Fed’s independence and its continued fight against inflation.
Blog
The week in regulations: Homework gaps and cannabimimetic agents
At Davos, President Trump withdrew his threats to invade Greenland and tariff European countries. The Supreme Court appeared skeptical about his attempt to fire…
Citation
US economy shows momentum but risks continue heading into 2026
The National News Desk cited CEI’s expert on labor hiring “It’s low hire and low fire, and what that means is that people…
Citation
DOJ investigation could push Powell to hold on to his seat at Fed
The Washington Examiner cited CEI’s expert on Powell Ryan Young, a senior economist at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, said that Powell choosing to…
Blog
The week in regulations: Neck floats and glazed bus portals
President Trump opened a criminal investigation into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. He also proposed capping credit card interest rates at 10 percent, effective…
News Release
Inflation rises in December, Trump’s Fed threats raise questions about monetary policy future: CEI analysis
The CPI for December rose 0.3 percent, bringing year-over-year inflation up to 2.7 percent. While the report suggests monetary policy is unlikely to change…
News Release
Trump’s criminal investigation of Fed chairman a mistake: CEI analysis
The Trump Justice Department’s newly announced criminal investigation of the Federal Reserve chairman, ostensibly concerning renovations of the Fed’s headquarters, is a mistake. Ryan…
Blog
The week in regulations: Taconite and label shapes
President Trump deposed Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro and embarked on a nation-building project. ICE agents killed an American citizen in Minnesota. Agencies issued new…
Blog
Politicians need to think beyond stage one on credit card price controls
President Trump, in a Friday news dump on social media, proposed price controls on credit card interest rates. He wants to cap annual…
News Release
Tariffs loom over US economy’s disappointing job gains for December 2025
The US economy added a disappointing 50,000 jobs in December 2025, according to government data. CEI experts point to tariffs and economic uncertainty as…
NOTUS
Trump’s War on Labor Data Didn’t Change the Economic Outlook
NOTUS cited CEI’s expert on economic output Ryan Young, a senior economist at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, said he believes BLS is…
News Release
Report urges yearly sunset for all government regulations following Idaho success
A new Competitive Enterprise Institute report urges an annual sunset date for all government regulations, offering a case study on this reform already implemented…
Blog
New CEI study: Zero-based regulations
A new CEI study by Alex Adams looks at a regulatory reform approach that succeeded in Idaho: zero-based regulation. The idea is similar…
Blog
The week in regulations: 2025 year-end special
Happy New Year, everyone. The final numbers for 2025’s regulations are in. The first half of this post summarizes those numbers and compares them…
News Release
Third quarter 2025 GDP growth impressive despite tariff burden: CEI analysis
After a shutdown-related delay, the initial estimate for third quarter GDP is in – a strong 4.3 percent growth. That’s impressive in the midst…
Blog
Best books of 2025: Johan Norberg’s Peak Human
Johan Norberg’s latest book, Peak Human, is a history of golden ages. After starting in Ancient Greece and then Rome, Norberg tours the…
Blog
The week in regulations: Neck floats and stablecoins
Unemployment went slightly up, and inflation went slightly down. President Trump gave a primetime speech, and earlier in the week commented on Rob Reiner…
News Release
Inflation increased by 0.2 percent in November but year-over-year inflation remains above the Fed’s target
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) report for November showed a 0.2 percent increase in inflation across all sectors, lower than market expectations. But…
News Release
US economy added 64,000 jobs in November but underemployment and stagflation cause concern: CEI analysis
The US Labor Department released its report today on jobs added to the economy in November 2025, a modest gain. But underemployment and…
Blog
Time to end the Christmas tree tax
Fun holiday fact: the federal government has a Christmas Tree Promotion Board. It works a bit like a trade association does in…
Blog
The week in regulations: Fuel casks and water beads
The Federal Reserve cut interest rates. President Trump proposed $12 billion in giveaways to farmers harmed by his tariffs. Agencies issued new regulations ranging…
News Release
Fed cuts interest rates in December meeting: CEI analysis
The Federal Reserve today cut interest rates by 0.25 percentage points, a sign the board is wrangling with tradeoffs, say CEI economy experts.
Blog
The week in regulations: Cable television rates and estate sales
President Trump announced an easing of vehicle fuel economy standards. Netflix struck a deal to buy Warner Bros. and HBO. The Defense Secretary is…
News Release
Consumer price inflation accelerating, recent government report shows: CEI analysis
Today the federal government released inflation data on consumer prices dating back to the month of September (having been delayed due to the weeks-long…
Letters
CEI Letter of Support on the Small Business Regulatory Reduction Act
Members of Congress, We write to reiterate our strong support for Rep. Van Duyne’s (TX-24) Small Business Regulatory Reduction Act…
Blog
The week in regulations: From postal possession to foreign atomic energy
It was a four-day week due to Thanksgiving. Agencies issued new regulations ranging from postage pricing to non-endangered woodpeckers. On to the data:…
Blog
The week in regulations: Airport fees and pesticide fragrances
September’s jobs report came out after a shutdown-related delay. The FTC lost its antitrust case against Meta. Agencies issued new regulations ranging from postage…
The Washington Times
Thanksgiving dinner prices fall for 3rd straight year as inflation cools
The Washington Times cited CEI’s expert on prices Ryan Young, a senior economist at the libertarian Competitive Enterprise Institute, said more families are…
The Washington Examiner
Coconut, citrus, and tea: Here’s what got tariff relief quietly over the weekend
The Washington Examiner cited CEI’s expert on tariffs Ryan Young, a senior economist at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, said the list of tariff…
News Release
US economy adds 119,000 jobs in September amid tariff turmoil
American employers added 119,000 jobs in September, the government reported today in the first jobs report since the weeks long federal government shutdown. CEI…
The National News Desk
Rollbacks on tariffs for food could bring shoppers some relief on prices
The National News Desk cited CEI’S expert on tariffs raising prices “The positive experience that consumers will see with price reductions on…
Blog
Shutdown lesson: Depend less on DC
The record-length shutdown showed how dependent many Americans are on Washington. This is one of the biggest flaws in the ongoing nationalization of politics.
DC Journal
Shutdown Lesson: Don’t Depend on D.C.
The federal shutdown is over. Here’s one big takeaway: We need to depend less on Washington. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) food aid…
Blog
The week in regulations, the final shutdown edition: Manifest mailing and broken trash incinerators
The federal shutdown is over. Since the Federal Register has a few days’ lag time for publishing agency documents, it will likely take until…
Blog
Swiss trade deal could be a good start towards mutual recognition
Switzerland’s government announced today that it reached an agreement on a trade framework with the United States. America’s Liberation Day tariff rate on…
Blog
The week in regulations, shutdown edition: Medicare payments and arms trafficking.
The Supreme Court held oral hearings for the V.O.S. Spirits tariff case. Former Vice President Dick Cheney passed away. Democrats had a very good…
Blog
The week in regulations, shutdown edition: Student loans and foreigners’ biometric data
President Trump announced a trade deal with China. The Federal Reserve cut interest rates. The continued federal shutdown meant another slow week in the…
News Release
Interest rates cut again, Fed to stop shrinking balance sheet in December: CEI analysis
Today, the Federal Reserve announced an interest rate cut of 25 basis points, in line with economists’ predictions. CEI senior economist Ryan…
Fox Business
Federal Reserve faces dilemma amid expected rate cut decision
FOX Business cited CEI’s expert on inflation data The latest inflation data from September released on Friday showed that the consumer…
Washington Examiner
No excuse for price floors in rare earths dispute
Parents don’t tolerate “But they do it, too” as an excuse from their children. What about when adults in positions of power use it?…
Blog
Rare earths and China: Choose deregulation, not price controls
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent threatened to implement price controls on unspecified goods if China continues to restrict rare earth mineral exports. Over at the…
Blog
The week in regulations, shutdown edition: Visa fees and regional haze
President Trump demanded that the Justice Department pay him $230 million. He also cut off all trade negotiations with Canada because of a tv…
News Release
Inflation increased 0.3 percent in September, higher prices still sticking around: CEI analysis
September saw an inflation increase of 0.3 percent across all sectors, in line with economists’ predictions. CEI senior economist Ryan Young says…
The Washington Examiner
Soybean farmers twisting in the wind during US-China talks
The Washington Examiner cited CEI’s expert on trade Accordingly, the timeline for the U.S. and China to come to an agreement over…
Blog
The week in regulations, shutdown edition: Mackerel and helicopters
The continuing shutdown made for another slow week in the Federal Register. The four-day week’s total of five proposed regulations, six proposed regulations, and…
Blog
A Nobel for human progress
This year’s economics Nobel Prize went to three students of the two most important questions in economics: Why have living standards in rich countries…
Blog
The week in regulations, shutdown edition: Pot gear and hot air fuel
Venezuelan democracy activist Maria Corina Machado won the Nobel Peace Prize. The partial federal shutdown meant there were no proposed regulations and five new…
Trib Live
‘We’re stretching’: As grocery prices continue to climb, shoppers redefine their staples
Trib Live cited CEI’s expert on Tariffs “Tomatoes from Mexico are being hit with a 17% tariff,” Ortega said. “In the cold…
Blog
The week in regulations: Poultry improvement and painful scars
The federal government shut down on Wednesday. Thursday’s Federal Register had 60 final regulations; normal is about 10. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth flew in…
Citation
Unknowns cloud economy’s future despite return to growth and rate cut
The National News Desk cited CEI’s expert on tariffs “Both consumers and businesses in a rush to beat tariffs have been stockpiling as…
Blog
The week in regulations: Airplane seats and Irish potatoes
President Trump signed an executive order to effectively end the H-1B visa category for high-skilled immigrants. He also raised tariffs on pharmaceuticals, argued without…
Blog
New tariffs for pharmaceuticals, furniture, and trucks
On the night of September 25, after markets closed, the Trump administration announced on social media that a new bevy of tariffs will…
Blog
The week in regulations: Sausage colors and patriotic education
The Federal Reserve cut interest rates. Attorney General Pam Bondi threatened to prosecute hate speech. ABC pulled late night host Jimmy Kimmel off the…
News Release
Fed independence is the real story in Wednesday’s interest rate decision: CEI analysis
Today, the Federal Reserve announced it is cutting interest rates by 25 basis points, the first cut in nine months. CEI senior economist…
Blog
The week in regulations: Date taxes and manifest mailing
Political commentator Charlie Kirk was killed while speaking at an event. While the Producer Price Index went down in August, the Consumer Price Index…
News Release
New downward revision for jobs numbers not surprising: CEI analysis
Today, the Bureau of Labor Statistics announced that there were 911,000 fewer jobs between March 2024 and March 2025 than previously reported. While…
Blog
The week in regulations: Coachella air quality and yogurt vitamins
The Federal Register, which tracks daily regulatory activity, has become less transparent. Jobs numbers for August were disappointing and actually shrank in June…
News Release
August adds 22,000 jobs, June and July numbers revised downward: CEI analysis
The jobs report for August shows a meager gain of 22,000 jobs, with the unemployment rate and the labor force participation rate remaining…
News Release
Federal court strikes down President Trump’s emergency tariffs: CEI analysis
On Friday, a federal court struck down President Trump’s emergency rationale for enacting worldwide tariffs. CEI senior economist Ryan Young applauds the court’s…
Blog
The week in regulations: Deepwater ports and ASCII relays
A court ruled President Trump’s Liberation Day tariffs unconstitutional. The case now moves to the Supreme Court. Countries around the world stopped shipping parcels…
Blog
The week in regulations: Bird hunting and food coloring
The Federal Register’s website became less transparent about rule counts and other data. President Trump threatened to send the military into a third city.
News Release
US/EU trade agreement underwhelms: CEI analysis
As a follow up to last month’s US/EU trade agreement that set 15 percent blanket tariffs on EU exports to the US (among other provisions),…
News Release
Possible US government stakes in chip manufacturers threatens executive overreach: CEI analysis
The Trump administration’s announcement of possible US government stakes in chip manufacturers that receive CHIPS Act funding raises concerns about concentrated executive power. In…
Blog
The week in regulations: Import paperwork and postal possession
The 2025 Federal Register topped 40,000 pages. President Trump met with Vladimir Putin in Alaska. The Producer Price index rose at its fastest level…