Blog
You want hiring freezes with that? The effects of California’s minimum wage increase
California officially raised its minimum wage to $20 an hour last April in an attempt to help the state’s working poor. What those…
Blog
DOGE’s first cut at bureaucracy: A target inventory
Donald Trump’s Executive Order 14219, “Ensuring Lawful Governance and Implementing the President’s ‘Department of Government Efficiency’ Regulatory Initiative,” has set the stage for a…
News Release
Trump Tariffs on Canada and Mexico bad for the economy, businesses, American trade deal integrity
President Trump plans to make his envisioned 25 percent tariffs on Canada and Mexico go into effect on March 4, to the detriment of…
DC Journal
Pare Back Presidential Power
President Trump is poised to address a joint session of Congress on March 4, the first-year equivalent of the annual State of the Union…
Blog
CEI’s The Surge: CRA resolutions, Climate Disclosure Rule, 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…
Blog
Pressure brought to bear to delist ‘threatened’ grizzlies
On February 5th, Reps. Harriet Hageman (R-WY), Russ Fulcher (R-ID), Ryan Zinke (R-MT), and Troy Downing (R-MT) sent a letter to…
Blog
White House requires federal agencies to disclose time spent working for unions instead of taxpayers
The Trump administration has restored reporting and transparency requirements for so-called “official time,” the practice where government workers are allowed to act exclusively on…
Blog
This week in ridiculous regulations: Crab specifications and dominant postal products
More tariffs are on the way against China. President Trump announced that delayed tariffs against Canada and Mexico will go through. The actor Gene…
The Daily Economy
DOGE Gets Serious in Its War on the Administrative State
I have argued for over a decade that America has a fourth, largely unaccountable branch of government in the administrative state. My 2012 book, …
Blog
Trump labor department pick signals pro-market stance on joint employer, independent contract rules
Keith Sonderling, Trump’s pick to deputy secretary of labor, the department’s second-ranking position, told the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee…
Blog
Presidential discretion allowed by the Impoundment Control Act
The Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) publishing my paper this week about the possible constitutional arguments against the Impoundment Control Act of 1974.
Blog
My State of the Union message: Restore separation of powers
President Trump is giving a speech on March 4 to a joint session of Congress. In a syndicated column for Inside Sources, I…
Blog
Don’t let a government shutdown stop mergers
With a March 14 deadline looming, the US is heading towards another government shutdown. Congressional Democrats seem willing to let funding lapse unless…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Alabama does DOGE with Stephanie Smith
In this week’s episode we discuss poverty in Illinois, J.D. Vance on AI in Paris, the future of the Jones Act…
News Release
BP embraces petroleum again
British Petroleum is reportedly reembracing its core mission of producing petroleum instead of ESG-related ventures it has been trumpeting and spending money on.
DC Journal
Point: Pare Back Presidential Power
President Trump is poised to address a joint session of Congress on March 4, the first-year equivalent of the annual State of the Union…
Forbes
Signs Of A Renewed Regulatory Reform Push From DOGE
Over the last half year, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has undergone an unexpected journey. What began as an idea envisioned by Elon…
Letters
CEI joins the Black Rock Group to support Make America Competitive Again.
Dear Speaker Johnson and Majority Leader Thune, On behalf of the Competitiveness Coalition, we write today to urge you and your colleagues to…
Op-Eds
Op-Ed: Why states should avoid the temptation to tax unrealized gains
Prospects for a federal wealth tax could be nil in the Trump era, but states – specifically blue states – may be tempted to…
Blog
SEC abandons legal arguments in favor of climate disclosure rule
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced this month that it will no longer defend the indefensible, abandoning in court its arguments favoring…
News Release
House poised to debate rescinding Biden EPA methane tax rule
Today, the House is expected to debate a resolution of disapproval that would rescind the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) methane tax…
News Release
CEI leads coalition letter urging Congress to end Biden rule against tankless water heaters
Today the Competitive Enterprise Institute sent a coalition letter to the House of Representatives urging an end to the Biden administration’s crackdown on gas-fired…
Letters
CEI Leads Coalition Letter to Congress on Tankless Water Heaters
Dear 119th Congress: The Biden administration gave us many bad appliance regulations, but worst of all may have been its last-minute crackdown on…
Blog
With Section 230 under threat, Otherwise Objectionable tells the true story of the most misunderstood law on the internet
Section 230, the foundational law that governs defamation liability online, has been under attack by partisans on both the left and the right in…
Letters
CEI joins coalition letter highlighting Congress’s historic opportunity to expand on the success of health savings accounts (HSAs)
Dear Members of Congress, We, the undersigned organizations, are writing to highlight Congress’s historic opportunity to expand on the success of health savings…
The Daily Economy
Bud Light Returns to Merit, Profit After ESG Backlash Cost Billions
Most Americans have heard about Bud Light’s controversial marketing collaboration with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney in April 2023 from the ensuing boycott against the brand, which …
News Release
Trump administration appoints free market champion Mark Calabria to OMB post: CEI statement
The Trump administration has appointed free market advocate Mark Calabria as Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Associate Director for Treasury, Housing, and Commerce.
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…
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.
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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.