Blog
An economic, constitutional, and geopolitical disaster
Yesterday’s tariff announcement was long expected, yet its details came as a surprise. In one regard it was less bad than it could have been:…
Blog
CEI’s The Surge: The EPA, WOTUS, and more
If you are interested in analysis and perspective on current energy and environmental issues, then we encourage you to subscribe to this new publication and…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: An affordable and reliable future with Gabriella Hoffman
In this week’s episode we cover Republicans for the Green New Deal, diminishing returns from industrial policy in China, and the bottleneck…
Marketplace
Our post-tariff takeaways
MarketPlace cited CEI’s expert on tariffs Listen to more on MarketPlace…
Fox Business
What is the time frame for Trump’s tariffs leading to price increases?
Fox Business cited CEI’s expert on a timeline for price increases post-tariffs Ryan Young, senior economist at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, told FOX Business that…
News Release
New tariffs could spell major trouble for global economy: CEI analysis
President Trump has dubbed today “Liberation Day” by announcing a new round of tariffs on various goods entering the US. CEI senior economist Ryan…
WSJ Opinion
The Kid Rock-Kamala Coalition
WSJ Opinion cited CEI’s expert on the U.S. economy Now the White House is attacking secondary markets? Perhaps soon someone will have to explain…
Forbes
Trump’s Deregulation Gains Muscle—But Is He Skipping Leg Day?
The Trump 2.0 era has been marked by some extraordinary executive orders aimed at deregulation. These include E.O.14,192’s one-in, ten-out initiative; E.O. 14219’s installation of DOGE…
Blog
Trump’s deregulation push: Several steps forward—and some sideways
As I cover in a new column at Forbes, Trump 2.0 has brought a flurry of executive orders aimed at deregulation—one-in, ten-out rules,…
Blog
Trump’s push to remake the NLRB
Things are a bit topsy-turvy currently at the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), the federal agency that oversees labor-management disputes in…
Blog
Five ideas for Secretary Chavez-DeRemer
President Trump’s newly-confirmed labor secretary, Lori Chavez-DeRemer, has been viewed with suspicion by many on the free-market right. She can rectify that…
Testimony
Jessica Melugin Testimony before House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Administrative State, Regulatory Reform, and Antitrust
Chair Fitzgerald, ranking member Nadler, and distinguished members of the subcommittee, thank you for holding this hearing and inviting me to testify today. My name…
Letters
CEI joins Market Institute on Nippon Steel investment.
Dear Secretary Yellen: We represent a broad coalition of free-market, conservative, and individual liberty organizations united in our support of a market free of government…
Blog
Otherwise Objectionable episode 3: ‘Law and Disorder’
The third episode of Otherwise Objectionable, the narrative-driven podcast that tells the true story of Section 230 of the 1996 Telecommunications Act, moves beyond…
Letters
CEI joins Center of Freedom and Prosperity against trade tariffs
Dear President Donald J. Trump, On behalf of the undersigned conservative, free market, and taxpayer advocacy organizations, we write to commend you on your pro-growth…
CPAC
Regulatory Tyranny, Congressional Abdication—and the Push to Take It All Back
Letters
CEI joins National Taxpayers Union on revised Senate Budget
Dear Leader Thune: On behalf of the undersigned organizations, we write in support of your decision to bring a revised budget to the floor of…
Blog
Belgium has learned nothing from Germany’s nuclear phaseout
Doel Unit 1 was shut down in February as part of the country’s nuclear phaseout policy. In 2021, more than half of Belgium’s power came from…
Blog
The true cost of the Inflation Reduction Act
The increasingly poorly named Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), signed by President Biden in 2022, comes with incredible costs. These come from massive spending, like tax credits and…
Blog
This week in ridiculous regulations: Helicopter hoists and migrant children
President Trump announced new auto tariffs that will take effect next week, raising the price of average-priced new cars from $3,000 to $10,000. Agencies issued…
News Release
Trump EO reflects big drawbacks of government unions: CEI analysis
President Trump signed an executive order on March 27 to end collective bargaining with public sector unions in certain agencies with national security missions. CEI…
Letters
CEI joins State Policy Network in coalition letter on Executive Order Unleashing Prosperity Through Deregulation
News Release
CFPB seeks to un-do lawsuit against small mortgage firm: CEI statement
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau this week took the unusual step of requesting to vacate a lawsuit and settlement penalizing a small Chicago-based mortgage…
Comment
Comment on Interim Final Rule, Removal of National Environmental Policy Act Implementing Regulations
Dear Council on Environmental Quality: I appreciate the opportunity to comment on the Council on Environmental Quality’s (CEQ) interim final rule removing its National Environmental…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Working for a better tomorrow with Vinnie Vernuccio
In this week’s episode we cover America’s founding principles, the Cato Institute’s recommendations for reforming financial regulation, why Republicans shouldn’t be busting…
Comment
CEI’s comment on NEPA removal regulations
Re: Docket No. CEQ–2025–0002, RIN 0331-AA10 Removal of National Environmental Policy Act Implementing Regulations, 90 Fed. Reg. 10,610 (Feb. 25, 2025). Dear Ms. Healy:…
Blog
Yes, women had access to credit before 1974
March is Women’s History Month, a time to acknowledge and celebrate many “firsts” for women in public life. One of those “firsts” is the ability…
Letters
CEI joins ATR Coalition Urging 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…
Letters
CEI joins Advancing American Freedom asking that Thomas Sowell be awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Blog
Hawley’s bill speeds up union elections by removing guardrails
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) thinks workers are having too hard of a time forming unions. His solution to that is to fast-track the process…
Blog
Is the Solar for All program authorized?
In 2022, Democrats passed the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) without a single Republican vote in the House or Senate.One of the most controversial IRA…
Letters
CEI joins ATR to address the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s last-minute efforts to expand its own regulatory authority to govern digital wallets and overdraft fees.
Dear Member of Congress: We, the undersigned organizations and individuals, urge you to address the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) last-minute efforts to expand its…
News Release
Trump auto tariffs all pain, no gain for consumers
President Trump said today that starting April 2, he plans to impose a 25 percent tariffs on cars and trucks shipped into the United States.
Letters
CEI joins Institute for the American Worker in coalition letter about Senator Josh Hawley’s proposal framework for the PRO Act.
Dear Members of the United States Senate, We write to express our deep concern about Senator Josh Hawley’s proposed labor framework. The framework has no…
News Release
Report: Energy Infrastructure in Dire Need of Reforms for our AI Future
America’s homes, businesses, and industries rely on the nation’s electric grid system, but that system faces big challenges. A new Competitive Enterprise Institute report examines…
Letters
CEI joins ATR coalition letter in opposition of Credit Card Competition Act
We, the undersigned organizations, oppose efforts to impose price controls on credit cards. Whether through the inaccurately named Credit Card Competition Act or price…
Study
Powering Intelligence: Meeting AI’s Energy Needs in a Changing Electricity Landscape
Introduction The electric grid is one of the most critical pieces of infrastructure underpinning modern life, yet it faces growing threats from increased demand, regulatory…
Blog
Otherwise Objectionable episode 2: ‘The Dawn of the Internet’
The second episode of Otherwise Objectionable, the narrative-driven podcast that tells the true story of Section 230 of the 1996 Telecommunications Act, focuses on…
Letters
CEI Joins ATR in opposition to the Internal Revenue Service’s midnight rulemaking on digital asset brokers.
Dear Member of Congress, We, the undersigned organizations, write to express our opposition to the Internal Revenue Service’s midnight rulemaking on digital asset brokers.
The National News Desk
Reciprocal tariffs could get softened as Trump’s ‘liberation day’ nears
The National News Desk cited CEI’s experts on imports. “People are getting the imports now while they’re cheaper, and then they’ll buy less later when…
Blog
Trump should eliminate this troubled risk assessment program
Among Washington’s sprawling regulatory bureaucracies, one program has quietly shaped environmental policy for decades. The EPA’s Integrated Risk Information System, known as IRIS, influences…
The Washington Times
The true story behind the ‘gold bars’ at the heart of Trump’s biggest climate fight
The Washington Post quoted CEI’s expert on the EPA Daren Bakst, director of the Center for Energy and Environment at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, a…
Blog
This week in ridiculous regulations: Volatile gas and the Gulf of Mexico
The Federal Reserve held interest rates steady, and President Trump put on some pressure to lower them. Trump also fired Democratic FTC commissioners on unclear…
Blog
SEC restores corporate control over ESG proposals
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has wasted no time in reforming controversial regulations under the Trump administration. Beyond targeting formal rules, GOP commissioners have…
Law & Liberty
“DOGE-ing the FTC?”
Professor William F. Shughard II with the Independent Institute discusses the inefficiency and redundancy of the Federal Trade Commission.
Real Clear Investigations
The Greenhouse Gas Windfalls Blew Hard for Solar in the Biden EPA
Real Clear Investigations cited CEI’s expert on the EPA “At a minimum, it is questionable how the Biden EPA decided to award the $7 billion,…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Tariffs, tax cuts, and trustees with Dominic Pino
In this week’s episode we cover retirement investing, pivoting to India for global trade, new housing on federal land, and priorities…
The Hill
Canada should call Trump’s bluff and drop all of its tariffs
We now appear to be in a full-fledged trade war with our closest ally and neighbor. Canada — so deeply integrated into…
Law and Liberty
A Revolution Against Regulation
One of the great threats to freedom in the United States today is what we at the Competitive Enterprise Institute call “…
Reason
“President Trump Targets Humphrey’s Executor Directly”
Professor Jonathan Adler provides an explainer on the constitutional implications of President Trump’s firing of the two Democratic FTC commissioners.
Real Clear Markets
“The FTC’s Andrew Ferguson Chooses Khan over 1st Amendment”
Norm Singleton with the Market Institute discusses the FTC’s request for information on “tech censorship.”…
CPAC
CPAC 2025 and Beyond: A Roadmap to Lasting Regulatory Reform
CPAC has CEI’s expert speak on a panel about regulatory reform On Friday, February 21st, 2025, attendees at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC)…
Blog
Trump SEC makes tremendous progress against crypto-stifling regulation
Gary Gensler’s SEC worked at a frenetic pace to shut down innovation in the crypto sector. Without rhyme or reason, the Biden-Gensler SEC moved fast…
C-SPAN
Daren Bakst and Joe Bonfiglio on Proposed EPA Regulatory Rollbacks
CEI’s Daren Bakst appeared on C-SPAN’s Washington Journal this morning on a panel discussing the rollback of the EPA Watch more at C-SPAN…
News Release
Surfing the environmental permitting bureaucracy in Hawaii: CEI report
Hawaii’s environmental permitting system sits at a crucial moment in history, with the destruction of homes and businesses on Maui in the August 2023 wildfires…
Study
Aloha Approvals
Hawaii’s permitting system is at a critical juncture, faced with the dual challenges of rebuilding in the wake of the 2023 Maui wildfires and addressing…
Blog
Let the deconstruction commence
Congress’s actionable hierarchy for administrative state burial & constitutional resurrection Alongside restoring fiscal sanity, Congress must establish a hierarchy of actions to make Donald Trump’s…
Blog
Trump cancels Biden’s heat pump crisis
It isn’t easy figuring out the single most ridiculous Biden administration climate policy, but its declaration that electric heat pumps are critical to the…
Los Angeles Times
The Trump administration schooled Europe on free speech. Why ignore the lesson at home?
Vice President JD Vance’s wise words to Europe about U.S. commitments to free speech are on a collision course with some of what’s happening stateside.
Blog
Otherwise Objectionable Podcast episode 1: ‘The Most Misunderstood Law on the Internet’
Otherwise Objectionable is the brand-new limited series podcast that tells the true story of how a previously-obscure defamation law, Section 230 of the 1996…
Wall Street Journal
“Trumps Fires Two Democratic FTC Commissioners”
The Wall Street Journal reports on President Trump’s firing of Commissioners Rebecca Slaughter and Alvaro Bedoya.
National Review
“Will FTC Chair Andrew Ferguson Inadvertently Promote Censorship?”
Robert Bork Jr. argues that the FTC’s recent request for information on “tech censorship” does not promote free speech.
Wall Street Journal
“Cleaning Up after Lina Khan”
The Wall Street Journal’s editorial board ponders whether new FTC Chair Andrew Ferguson will reconsider the agency’s antitrust cases filed under Lina Khan.
Blog
14 priorities in slashing spending and regulation before ‘America 250’—#7 will shock you!
This past week, the House and Senate passed a continuing resolution (CR) that preserves Biden-era spending levels while largely turning a blind eye to…
Blog
Let’s cut the cord on federal funding for NPR and PBS
They are products of a media landscape that no longer exists. The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) was born through the Public Broadcasting Act…
Blog
Will BlackRock revive Social Security reform?
Earlier this week mega asset manager BlackRock hosted a high-profile public event in Washington, D.C. focused on retirement savings, with several A-list panelists from…
Blog
Gov. Youngkin should veto restrictive credit bill
While many watchful eyes focus on the economic impacts of actions of federal lawmakers inside the Beltway, pending legislation in a statehouse 100 miles south…
City Journal
Home Appliance Regulations Are Out of Control
President Trump hates federal home appliance regulations as much as President Biden loved them. And now Secretary of Energy Chris Wright has taken the first…
Truth on the Market
“What Changes Might, and Should, a New FTC Majority Bring?”
Dan Gilman with the International Center for Law & Economics discusses the change in administration at the FTC.
The United States Environmental Protection Agency
WHAT THEY ARE SAYING: Leaders Applaud EPA’s Historic Deregulatory Actions to Power the Great American Comeback
The United States Environmental Protection Agency cited CEI’s expert on the EPA’s deregulatory actions Competitive Enterprise Institute’s Director of Center for Energy and Environment Daren…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Broadcasting liberty with Jeff Westling
In this week’s episode we discuss Trump tariffs (via AEI’s Jim Pethokoukis and Apricitas Economics’s Joey Politano), the death…
The New York Times
E.P.A. Declares ‘Greatest Day of Deregulation Our Nation Has Seen’
The New York Times Cited CEI’s expert on the EPA Groups that deny the established science of climate change also cheered Mr. Zeldin’s actions. “The…
Real Clear Investigations
A New Beltway Mystery: Follow the Biden EPA Money
Real Clear investigations cited CEI’s expert on the EPA’s spending “I think it will be an uphill battle to recover the money, but it’s…
News Release
EPA Administrator Zeldin announces major deregulatory actions as part of the “Power the Great American Comeback” initiative
Today, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin announced a series of major deregulatory reforms, including a reconsideration of the Obama-era “Endangerment Finding,” which…
National Review
Trump Transition at FTC Is No Reagan Revolution
Don’t call it a “comeback.” Those hoping for a Reagan-era-like return to economic sanity or regulatory humility in antitrust at the Federal Trade Commission…
Blog
Shutdowns are fake, but government growth is very real
With a government funding deadline looming on March 14, the House passed a continuing resolution (CR) to freeze non-defense spending at Fiscal Year 2024…
News Release
February inflation numbers not yet reflective of Trump’s tariffs: CEI analysis
Inflation rose 0.2 percent across all sectors in February, down from 0.5 percent in January. CEI senior economist Ryan Young says Trump’s tariffs did…
News Release
New Podcast “Otherwise Objectionable” Explores the Law That Built the Internet—And Why Everyone Wants to Change It
Section 230 of the 1996 Telecommunications Act prevents the internet services we rely on from being sued into oblivion. It’s the reason social media platforms,…
The New York Times
Trump Doubles Metal Tariffs as He Presses Canada to Become Part of U.S.
The New York Times cited CEI’s experts on tariffs “Ryan Young, a senior economist at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, said that putting tariffs on foreign…
Blog
Plans to build gas plants respond to increased power demand
Energy companies respond to surging AI demand with behind-the-meter solutions. Rising power demand, led by the buildout of data centers for Artificial Intelligence (AI), is leading…
Blog
Chavez-DeRemer exemplifies Trump’s complicated relationship with unions
The Senate confirmed former Oregon Congresswoman Lori Chavez-DeRemer in a 67-32 vote Monday as President Trump’s new labor secretary. CEI and others…
Blog
Russia tariffs won’t bring peace
President Trump seems to think that tariffs can accomplish almost anything. My colleague Iain Murray recently pointed out that Trump believes tariffs can raise…
Op-Eds
Will Congress Ever Take The Libertarian Win And Embrace Automatic Shutdown?
Congress is at it again. With the March 14, 2025, funding deadline looming, the House is debating a continuing resolution (CR) that would…
News Release
Trump’s plan to increase steel, aluminum tariffs on Canada not a winning move: CEI analysis
President Trump declared today he will increase planned steel and aluminum tariffs against Canada in a tit for tat response to Canada’s recent imposition…
Citation
Transportation Security Agency workers in Illinois, elsewhere lose union
Competitive Enterprise Institute labor policy expert Sean Higgins said the agency claimed there were problems of waste and abuse with the practice…
Master Resource
Modernize EPA! (CEI guidebook is out)
Master Resource cited CEI’s experts on new study in modernizing the EPA “Kudos to CEI for its unwavering dedication to principled scholarship in its long,…
The Economic Standard
The CFPB drops its misguided case against Zelle
Seemingly as part of the general order to stop work by acting director Russ Vought, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has …
Blog
This week in ridiculous regulations: NEPA and refrigerators
President Trump delayed some tariffs against Canada and Mexico, but let others take effect. He also enacted a sixth round of tariffs against China and…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Striving for shareholder value with Matt Cole
In this week’s episode we discuss executive branch powers at the Supreme Court, BP’s pivot back to being an oil and gas…
Blog
Legislation would restore the full power of the Seventh Amendment
Rep. Harriet Hageman (R-WY) has introduced a bill offering the first legislative step toward administrative law court (ALC) reform. Known as the Seventh…
News Release
TSA to end collective bargaining due for its workers, citing abuse of union “official time”: CEI comment
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) today announced it is ending collective bargaining for the Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA) Transportation Security Officers, explaining that…
Blog
Trump EO on crypto reserves rightly eschews government purchases
After much anticipation, President Donald Trump’s newly issued executive order (EO) on a “Strategic Bitcoin Reserve” and “digital asset stockpile” does not call for…
News Release
Economy adds fewer jobs than expected in February 2025, with trade tariff uncertainty looming large
Experts expected the U.S. economy to add 160,000 jobs in the month of February, but it fell a bit short at 151,000. As President Trump’s…
News Release
Fintech’s Buy Now, Pay Later system helps consumers budget wisely: CEI analysis
Klarna, a Swedish financial technology (FinTech) company, is set to file publicly on the US stock market as soon as next week. Klarna’s Buy Now,…
Blog
The CFPB drops its misguided case against Zelle
Seemingly as part of the general order to stop work by acting director Russ Vought, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has dropped…
Forbes
Like DOGE, Virginia Is Leading The Way On Government Efficiency
The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is one of the most high-profile experiments in Trump’s second administration. With billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk at the helm,…
DC Journal
Point: Let Free Trade Work Its Magic
Tariff advocates have three main arguments. One, they raise revenue. Two, they revive domestic industries. And three, they are a diplomatic negotiating tool. Not only do…
News Release
Competitive Enterprise Institute releases new book as the first part of a major project dedicated to reforming the EPA
Today, the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) released a new book, Modernizing the EPA: A Blueprint for Congress, as the first part of a long-term…
Products
Modernizing the EPA: Key Issues at a Glance
This section lists the key issues discussed in the book that Congress should address. Below these issues are specific recommendations for how Congress can address…
Products
Modernizing Chemical Regulations and Other Critical Regulatory Issues
This chapter examines the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations that implement several environmental statutes: The Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), which regulates the production, importation,…