Blog
The deregulation machine hits bureaucratic resistance
A new White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) memo, “Streamlining the Review of Deregulatory Actions,” poses an ambitious test: can agencies…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Truth, lies, and economics with Jeremy Horpedahl
In this week’s episode we talk about Social Security’s cost of living, conserving rare earth minerals, and why California keeps…
News Release
Trump Administration Assertions in Supreme Court Tariff Hearing Lack Limiting Principle
Today, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments on the legality of President Trump’s use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to justify…
National Review
A Less Perfect Union
Charlie Kirk’s tragic murder has had ramifications across America, but one of its strangest consequences has been to bring a venerable British institution to the…
National Review
RFK Jr.’s Cherry-Picked Science
One of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s promises as secretary of health and human services was to bring gold-standard science to our…
News Release
New CEI paper: FCC should stop regulating news content
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has long used its role in licensing spectrum to broadcast television and radio stations to regulate those outlets under…
Study
Freedom, Broadcasting, and the Public Interest
Introduction The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is invoking the public interest to justify regulatory moves that would, in theory, force television and radio station…
News Release
CFPB budget woes underscore fundamental problems with bureau’s set up
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) may run out of money soon, according to news reports. The bureau has been controversial from the start…
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…
Forbes
How North Dakota Mastered The Permitting Game
Blog
Stop artificially increasing demand for rare earths
Trade wars with China over rare earth minerals have sparked a number of policy responses, ranging from good ideas like streamlining the permitting…
Blog
CFPB breaks its stranglehold over adjudications
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) just announced that it will revise its adjudication rules to ensure greater fairness. Specifically, the CFPB is…
Watts Up With That
Part 2 Hiding the Endangerment Finding’s Systemic Biases – Politico’s Failed Attack on DOE’s Climate Science Report
Part 1 can be found here. Marlo Lewis, Ph.D., Senior Fellow in Energy and Environmental Policy, Competitive Enterprise Institute Part 2: Allegations…
Watts Up With That
Hiding the Endangerment Finding’s Systemic Biases – Politico’s Failed Attack on DOE’s Climate Science Report Part 1
Part 2 can be found here. Marlo Lewis, Ph.D., Senior Fellow in Energy and Environmental Policy, Competitive Enterprise Institute Politico recently…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Our nuclear tomorrow with Craig Piercy
In this week’s episode we talk about administrative law judges, AI innovation saving lives, environmental regulation creating more wildfires, and…
The Daily Economy
Digital ID and the Return of Big Brother Britain
Fresh out of university and looking for a career in public policy, I interviewed for a job in the Conservative Research Department of 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…
Blog
Darklore Depository 2025: An unofficial inventory of guidance documents and other regulatory dark matter
Halloween can remind policy wonks that some of the ghastliest regulatory chills come not from ordinary notice-and-comment regulation buried in the daily Federal Register,…
News Release
Frack to the Future with North Dakota’s permitting success
Today, the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) released a new report highlighting North Dakota’s user-friendly environmental permitting laws. “North Dakota has always been…
Study
Frack to the Future
Introduction North Dakota is typically known for the Badlands, agriculture, Fargo (thanks, Coen brothers), cold weather, and its flat landscape. Yet, due to technological…
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…
Forbes
Washington’s Hidden Rulebook: The 2025 Darklore Depository And The Case For Guidance Document Reform
Agencies also say “BOO” with guidance documents, statements of policy, memoranda, notices, bulletins, advisory opinions, directives, news releases, letters and even blog posts.
National Review
U.N.’s Global Carbon Tax Should Be a Wake-Up Call to Fight International Climate Extremism
The United States should be an international leader in the fight against energy poverty and for energy freedom. Because, as of now, many countries…
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…
Comment
CEI comments on Regulatory Reform on Artificial Intelligence
RE: Request for Information: Regulatory Reform on Artificial Intelligence Docket No.: OSTP-TECH-2025-0067 The Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) appreciates the opportunity to comment…
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…
Blog
The TrumpRx medicine will prove worse than the disease
On September 30, President Trump, standing alongside the CEO of Pfizer, announced a multifaceted deal wherein Pfizer would inoculate itself from new regulations…
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…
Blog
CFPB must withdraw open banking rule to protect innovation and consumer choice
On October 21, John Berlau, senior fellow and director of finance policy at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, submitted a comment letter to the…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Obamacare problems with Jeremy Nighohossian
In this week’s episode we talk about the unintended consequences of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, decarbonization of economic growth, and…
Blog
Exposing America’s hidden judiciary
I have a new paper published with the Pacific Legal Foundation (PLF), How Interagency Borrowing of Administrative Law Judges Circumvents the Rule of…
Blog
The war on gas stoves is not over – but the Trump administration is fighting back
The Department of Energy (DOE) recently announced that it is rescinding federal grants for changes to state and local building codes that would discourage…
Forbes
$1 Trillion And Counting: Do Federal Grants Sabotage Regulatory Reform?
There’s been much attention to Donald Trump’s streamlining and “deconstruction” of conventional notice-and-comment regulation this year – a campaign that…
Blog
Has Washington bought off the deregulatory movement?
Back during the Biden administration, I noted how rising federal spending and regulation seemed to swap unfunded mandates for funded ones – turning what…
Blog
In absence of federal action, states begin challenging the proxy duopoly
The two largest proxy advisors, Glass Lewis and Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS), have dominated the proxy voting market for the past 22 years. Following…
Blog
FTC’s Strategic Plan needs better strategy, more plans for Hart-Scott-Rodino
[Author’s correction: This blog post and comment incorrectly stated that the Federal Trade Commission’s Draft Strategic Plan for FY 2026-2030 failed to comply with…
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…
Comment
Comments urging withdrawal of Chopra CFPB open banking mandate
Dear Acting Director Vought: On behalf of the Competitive Enterprise Institute, I appreciate the opportunity to submit comments on RIN 3170-AB39, CFPB’s reconsideration…
Blog
Free Speech Week: The speech that ignited a revolution — and still speaks to us today
A Richmond story, a Virginia legacy, and the American ethos Richmond is my home city. My family has lived in Virginia for generations,…
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…
Comment
CEI Comments on the FTC’s Draft Strategic Plan for FY 2026–2030: Supporting Balanced Enforcement, Evidence-Based Policymaking, and Regulatory Predictability
[Author’s correction: This comment incorrectly stated that the Federal Trade Commission’s Draft Strategic Plan for FY 2026-2030 failed to comply with the Foundations for…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Energy diversity and abundance with Stephen Perkins
In this week’s episode we talk about the 2025 Nobel Prize in Economics, eliminating the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, why we…
Letters
CEI joins coalition Letter against caps on stablecoin rewards
RE: Coalition in Support of Preserving Consumer Rewards and Competition in Digital Asset Legislation Dear Chairmen Scott and Boozman, Ranking Members Warren and…
Blog
Report highlights the environmental costs of wind and solar
A Center of the American Experiment report, authored by Sarah Montalbano, explores the environmental costs of wind, solar, and battery storage technologies. These…
Comment
CEI Comments on Section 232 National Security Investigation of Imports of Personal Protective Equipment, Medical Consumables, and Medical Equipment, Including Devices
Comments of the Competitive Enterprise Institute Dear Deputy Assistant Secretary Khersonsky, The Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) submits these comments in opposition to…
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
Katie Porter’s exchange with CFPB’s Kraninger revisited amid new revelations
A recently surfaced clip of former Rep. Katie Porter (D-CA) has sparked a firestorm online. In a newly revealed 2021 video revealed published…
Independent Institute
Report Highlights the Environmental Costs of Wind and Solar
A Center of the American Experiment, authored by Sarah Montalbano, explores the environmental costs of wind, solar, and battery storage technologies. These “green” technologies…
Blog
The hidden growth of government in an age of less red tape
Recent editions of Ten Thousand Commandments detail how regulatory red tape mushroomed under Biden. For vulnerable small business, the Small Business &…
The Daily Signal
Is a Leftist-Created Corner of the Bureaucracy Defying the Government Shutdown?
The Daily Signal cited CEI’s expert on the CFPB Despite limits, with Vought at the helm, the CFPB has been headed in a…
Forbes
Small Business Regulation Is Cratering – Here’s The Hidden Catch
But during the Biden administration, red tape proliferated. The Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council noted, for example, the toll from credit…
Blog
Senate’s turn to pass the Fix Our Forests Act
It’s not often that legislation has as much bipartisan support as H.R. 471, the Fix Our Forests Act (FOFA) does. On January…
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…
Blog
The problem with Obamacare is Obamacare
This year, the COVID-induced expansion of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) will expire. Extending the expanded subsidies has become a point of contention between…
Blog
Impasse over NLRB nominee may be just what unions want
The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee yesterday approved one of President Trump’s nominees to serve on the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), the…
Letters
CEI Joins ATR in Urging Commerce to Reject Patent Tax Proposal Undermining OBBBA Success
Dear Secretary Lutnick: The undersigned organizations represent millions of Americans for whom efforts alongside the Trump administration on the One Big Beautiful Bill…
DC Journal
Counterpoint: Single-Use Plastic Bans Make No Sense
Nobody wants plastic pollution. That doesn’t mean poorly considered and heavy-handed governmental actions are the solution. This includes misguided single-use plastic bans (e.g., bans…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Celebrating human achievement with Ed Hudgins
In this week’s episode we talk about the need to build more infrastructure in the UK, an award for public finance…
Letters
CEI joins a coalition in Protecting Consumer Data: Why the CFPB Must Abandon Biden’s Flawed Open Banking Rule
Dear Acting Director Vought: We commend the bureau for acknowledging the flaws in the Personal Financial Data Rights rule promulgated under the Biden…
The American Spectator
Trump Topples the Regulatory Tower
The American Spectator cited CEI’s 10kc The federal government collected $4.9 trillion in taxes in 2024. The Competitive Enterprise Institute, founded by the late Fred Smith, calculates that…
Letters
CEI Joins Coalition with Center for Individual Freedom in Strong Support of Charter–Cox Merger to Advance Free-Market Innovation and Consumer Benefits
Dear Secretary Dortch: The undersigned organizations submit this letter to the Federal Communications Commission (hereinafter FCC) in support of the proposed combination of…
National Review
Time to Spring Trump’s Tariff Trap
H.L. Mencken, the Sage of Baltimore, grounded American democracy in the notion that the “common people know what they want and deserve to get it good…
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…
Civitas Institute
The First Amendment Vise
It’s been a rough ride for freedom of speech lately. The reads, “Congress shall make no law…prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom…
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…
Blog
EPA proposed rule cools down costly air conditioner regulation
The Biden administration inflicted many bad appliance regulations on homeowners, but the costliest of them all was an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rule…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Reforming Social Security with Romina Boccia
In this week’s episode we cover a new study on pharmaceutical tariffs, whether to expect a new Great Depression (via…
Blog
Next BLS head needs be an innovator, not a loyalist
President Trump nominated E.J. Antoni to head the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) because he wanted someone to modernize and update the agency’s…
Forbes
Turn Shutdown Theater Into A Slim-Down: Cut Spending And Regulation At Once
Looming federal government shutdowns should be treated as opportunities to cut both spending and regulation. So as we barrel toward a…
Blog
Shutdown? Take the win
Last-ditch negotiations are underway as another fiscal year comes to a close on October 1. It’s that familiar crossroads: a threatened shutdown if…
Wall Street Journal
“FTC Sues Zillow, Redfin Alleging They Suppress Rental Advertising Competition”
The Wall Street Journal reports on the FTC’s recent antitrust suit against Zillow and Redfin.
News Release
Report: Pharmaceutical tariffs will upend prices, supply
A new CEI report takes a close look at the complex, worldwide pharmaceutical supply chain to anticipate how forthcoming Trump tariffs might increase prices…
Study
I, Pharmaceutical
The global pharmaceutical industry is complex. This is true not only in the number of countries involved but the range of products, the sets…
Blog
National Public Lands Day shines light on reasonable entrance fees
September 27 was National Public Lands Day. To celebrate, the National Park Service (NPS) advertised free admission to national parks that…
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…
Truth on the Market
“The Iliad, the Odyssey, and the Amazon”
Dan Gilman with the International Center for Law & Economics discusses the FTC’s $2.5 billion settlement with Amazon.
Truth on the Market
“Antitrust at the Agencies: Happy New Year 5786 Edition”
Dan Gilman provides an initial read on how the FTC is considering issues involving AI and privacy.
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 White House’s new visa fee is another tariff
President Trump’s announcement that H1-B visas will now require a payment of $100,000 is best understood as an extension of…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Emergent abundance with Alex Trembath
In this week’s episode we cover the future of financial regulation, the end of the left vs. right distinction in politics,…
Blog
HSR hibernation: Will the FTC PNO see its shadow during government shutdown?
It’s time for DC to find a real groundhog that can assist in determining if the government will shut down to replace the…
Blog
Trump 401(k) EO helps equalize access to alternative assets
For more than a decade at CEI, I have argued that holders of 401(k)s and other defined-contribution plans should have maximum choice in the…
Blog
Conservative radio and the risks of FCC pressure on broadcast licensees
Conservative radio is one of the most potent forces in American politics. It emerged from Federal Communications Commission (FCC) deregulation that fostered free speech…
Blog
Is regulation killing American innovation?
The federal government micromanages American businesses and citizens through excessive and costly regulations. These rules stifle innovation, limit competitiveness, and hinder job creation, while…
Comment
CEI comments on the Justice Department and National Economic Council’s Request for Information Regarding State Laws with Extraterritorial Economic Impacts OLP182; Docket No. DOJ-OLP-2025-0169
News Release
Trump’s views on Tylenol shouldn’t supersede doctor advice
President Trump railed against Tylenol (acetaminophen) in a press conference this week, imploring, in particular, pregnant women and babies to not take (or be…
The Hill
The Movement: Erika Kirk, Trump showcase clashing messages about conservativism’s soul
The Hill cited CEI’s annual Julian L Simon Dinner The regulatory-reform-focused Competitive Enterprise Institute’s president, Kent Lassman, made a pointed joke about the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) at its…
Blog
A provisional look at the Trump 2.0 deregulation record
Early in his first term, Donald Trump ordered agencies to eliminate at least two rules for every “significant” one added – rules generally carrying…
Comment
CEI Comments on EPA Proposed Rule “Reconsideration of 2009 Endangerment Finding and Greenhouse Gas Vehicle Standards”
Dear Mr. Stout: On behalf of the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI), we appreciate this opportunity to provide comments on the Environmental Protection Agency’s…
News Release
Affordable transportation should be celebrated over “World Car-Free Day”
September 22 is associated with “World Car-Free Day”, an occasion aimed at prodding people to find alternative ways to travel around that day. CEI…
SCOTUSblog
“Supreme Court Allows Trump to Fire FTC Commissioner”
Amy Howe with SCOTUSblog provides the latest on the firing of Commissioner Rebecca Slaughter.
Citation
Playbook PM: The shutdown countdown begins
Politico cited CEI’s annual Julian L Simon Dinner. The Competitive Enterprise Institute hosted its annual Julian L. Simon Memorial Award Dinner at the…
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…
Fox Business
Social media giants scramble to control Charlie Kirk assassination videos after Utah shooting
The Daily Economy
Why the Old Left–Right Divide No Longer Works
A century ago, Michael Oakeshott, Britain’s great skeptic of politics, a grand project, diagnosed a sickness that now afflicts every Western democracy: the confusion…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Empowering patients with Vance Ginn
In this week’s episode we cover potential changes to quarterly reporting for public companies, state-level AI regulations, spiking gas prices…
Wall Street Journal
“FTC Sues Ticketmaster Alleging Illegal Ticket Resale Tactics”
The Wall Street Journal reports on the FTC’s suit against Ticketmaster.
Blog
California’s climate disclosure laws will devastate interstate commerce
This week, on behalf of the Competitive Enterprise Institute, I submitted a public comment to the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) notice for…