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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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 …
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…
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…
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…
Blog
Trump labor secretary pick backs right to work, disavows past support for union-tilted PRO Act
President Trump’s pick to be labor secretary, former Oregon Congresswoman Lori Chavez-DeRemer, disavowed her past support for the union-tilted …
Blog
CEI to Supreme Court: Please don’t let executive branch set tax rates
Yesterday, the Competitive Enterprise Institute filed an amicus brief urging the Supreme Court to recognize that only Congress has the authority to write…
Blog
Trump says labor law cannot prevent him from cleaning house at labor umpire agency
President’s Trump’s letter firing National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Chairwoman Gwynne Wilcox and the NLRB’s general Counsel, Jennifer Abruzzo, makes the bold claim…
Blog
Animal personalities, individualism, and economics
One of my hobbies is finding economics in unexpected places. The biologist and animal rescuer John Shivik’s 2017 book Mousy Cats and Sheepish Coyotes:…
Blog
This week in ridiculous regulations: flax revenue and female test dummies
President Trump announced reciprocal tariffs. At this point it is uncertain how they would be implemented. Agencies issued new regulations ranging from butterfat testing…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Pivot or Die with Gary Shapiro
In this week’s episode we discuss corporate DEI mandates, financial surveillance at the Securities and Exchange Commission, medical fraud among…
Blog
Goodbye to the roaring twenties of regulation? A cost roundup
The final Report to Congress on the Benefits and Costs of Federal Regulations from the Biden administration appeared January 15. Here at the…
Blog
Sovereign wealth funds: Should governments invest in private businesses?
President Trump recently signed an executive order to study creating a sovereign wealth fund for the US government. If the proposal comes to…
Blog
Trio of agencies scrap their climate disclosure mandate, SEC should take note
Prior to Inauguration Day 2025, the Department of Defense (DoD), General Service Administration (GSA), and National Aeronautics Space Administration (NASA) collectively withdrew a…
Blog
Big tech: threat or America’s best hope in global AI race? Questions for Trump antitrust appointees
Continued scrutiny of tech companies by antitrust authorities is expected under the Trump administration, with two new nominees awaiting confirmation to the Department…
Blog
Free speech at risk: Why website blocking bill goes too far
Content creators have long complained about copyright infringing websites that deprive them of compensation. The Motion Picture Association claims infringement costs “hundreds of…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Improving state finances with OJ Oleka
In this week’s episode we interview OJ Oleka, CEO of the State Financial Officers Foundation. We talk about how the new…
Blog
No, Virginia, there was no Amazon worker strike
The labor protests launched by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters against Amazon over the Christmas holiday were nothing more than a hollow …
Blog
This week in ridiculous regulations: Clothes dryers and nuclear reactors
It was a slow week for the Federal Register and a busy week for everything else. President Trump announced 25 percent blanket tariffs against…
Blog
Bill would delist Yellowstone grizzlies again
Last month, Rep. Harriet Hageman (R-WY) introduced legislation, the Grizzly Bear State Management Act, which directs the Secretary of Interior to delist…
Blog
We’re out of the Paris Agreement—again! How Trump can make it stick
On Inauguration Day (January 20, 2025), President Donald Trump withdrew the United States from the Paris Agreement, the global climate treaty negotiated by…
Blog
Congressional Review Act can cancel three bad appliance regs
The Congressional Review Act (CRA) is the easiest way for Congress to block some of the bad regulations enacted under the Biden administration. A…
Blog
House should support the Protecting American Energy Production Act
This week the House of Representatives is expected to consider the Protecting American Energy Production Act (H.R. 26), which was introduced by…
Blog
Senate debanking hearing should focus on government’s role in politicizing finance
Today the Senate Banking Committee is holding a hearing on debanking, which is the phenomenon of individuals and businesses in certain industries and with…
Blog
Agenda for Congress: Regulation
CEI’s new Agenda for Congress is out now. Each chapter contains pro-market policy recommendations in areas where CEI has expertise. Here are four…
Blog
Zero to prosperity? New Trump executive order is a good start
Donald Trump’s return to the White House has brought a wave of executive orders, including his new “Unleashing Prosperity Through Deregulation” directive.
Blog
The good, the bad, and the ugly in Trump’s new regulation executive order
President Donald Trump issued a new executive order on regulation Friday reviving some of the core ideas from his first term. The order…
Blog
Trump’s unilateral tariffs: Time for Congress to do its job
Over the weekend, President Trump announced 25 percent tariffs against Canada and Mexico, though Canadian energy imports will face a lower 10 percent rate.
Blog
This week in ridiculous regulations: Automatic brakes and horse protection amendments
Sixty-seven people died when a military helicopter and a passenger jet collided near Reagan Airport. President Trump issued an Executive Order to stop all…
Blog
Agenda for Congress: Inflation
CEI’s new Agenda for Congress is out now. Each chapter contains pro-market policy recommendations in areas where CEI has expertise. Here are the…
Blog
Coinbase’s FOIA complaints against FDIC raise serious government transparency concerns
In the waning days of the Biden administration, whistleblowers and investigative journalists put forth alarming revelations of financial regulators jawboning banks to cut off…
Blog
The One Agency Act, so hot right now
The 119th Congress has reignited old conversations regarding antitrust enforcement in the US. Namely, do we need two agencies to enforce the antitrust laws?…
Blog
Agenda for Congress: Trade
CEI’s new Agenda for Congress is out now. Each chapter contains pro-market policy recommendations in areas where CEI has expertise. Here are the…
Blog
Hawley offers gift to union leaders, not workers
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) reportedly has proposed a “pro-worker framework for the 119th Congress” that amounts to a watered down wishlist of items wanted by unions…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Trump vs. the Regulatory State with Susan Dudley
In this week’s episode we cover how the feds are forcing your bank to spy on you, a new strategy for…
Blog
Trump sketches out a battle plan on housing affordability
Housing affordability has become a front burner issue, and President Trump spared no time setting out his plan targeting the government regulations and red…
Blog
A game-changing Trump executive order could nuke regulatory dark matter
In the wake of Donald Trump’s flurry of executive actions—including implementing a regulatory freeze, eradicating Biden’s diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies and staffing,…
Blog
Regulators need to cool off and slow down their rulemakings
Rep. Harriet Hageman (R-WY) has reintroduced an important bill that would make the administrative rulemaking process fairer for the public. Known as the…
Blog
Trump follows Biden precedent in sacking NLRB general counsel
President Trump’s decision to fire National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Chairwoman Gwynne Wilcox and general counsel Jennifer Abruzzo is controversial and will likely be…
Blog
This week in ridiculous regulations: Paper packaging and de minimis imports
Presidents Biden issued a slew of executive actions on his way out of office. President Trump issued a slew of executive actions on his way into…
Blog
What Trump has already done to advance sound energy policy
President Donald Trump has wasted no time in seeking to undo the harm of President Joe Biden’s energy and environmental policy. Through his presidential…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Able Americans with Rachel Barkley
In this week’s episode we cover Trump’s executive orders, the demographics of the 119th Congress, our nation’s narrowing fiscal space,…
Blog
DOGE at a crossroads – An opportunity for real regulatory reform
The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) began with a promise to revolutionize Washington, bringing a chainsaw to government with sweeping regulatory and budget cuts.
Blog
Cracks in the regulatory freezeout
On the first afternoon of his second term, President Donald Trump signed 46 executive orders. They included welcome tools for restraining the administrative state.
Blog
Risks remain after Congress’s deregulatory net neutrality choice is affirmed
This past decade’s net neutrality saga recently received much needed clarity thanks to the federal 6th Circuit Court of Appeals. Its decision rules on…
Blog
Trump’s new Schedule F executive order is smarter, but could still backfire
President Trump’s re-instatement of his “Schedule F” executive order, making it easier to fire career federal…
Blog
Trump executive orders target Biden’s regulatory big bang
Joe Biden wrapped up his term with a parting regulatory surge, epitomized by today’s 872-page Federal Register—marking the apex of his aggressive midnight-rule…
Blog
This week in ridiculous regulations: Animal herders and delaying REAL ID
President Biden’s final Federal Register week was a busy one. Its 4,199 pages would make for a 209,950-page year if it sustained that pace.
Blog
Caution warranted on Strategic Bitcoin Reserve
Next week, as soon as President-elect Donald Trump takes office, there will be a sea change in government policy towards cryptocurrency. Through executive orders…
Blog
President Trump should revoke these 7 energy and environment executive orders
On Monday, President Donald Trump will begin his second term. He will be very busy in part because he needs to start undoing President…
Blog
DOGE should investigate Biden’s natural capital accounts
With an incoming Congress and president at the helm, Republicans are taking aim at problematic Biden-era regulations. In concert with the Department of Government…
Blog
Trump picks gig economy fan for DOL’s number 2 spot
President-elect Donald Trump has raised more than a few eyebrows in the world of labor policy when he nominated the…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Welfare costs and benefits with Scott Winship
In this week’s episode we cover the Los Angeles wildfires, reforms to high-skilled immigration, new leadership at the Department of…
Blog
Wildfires and the precautionary principle: Why being ‘safe’ isn’t always safer
As wildfires rage across Los Angeles and devastate communities, the issue of wildfire management has never been more important. At the heart of this…
Blog
FTC’s second interim report on PBMs: Don’t hold your breath
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) will consider issuing a second interim report on Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) tomorrow during its January 14 open…
Blog
Safeguarding innovation from bureaucracy: The techno-libertarian pivot
The just-concluded 2025 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) highlighted the relentless pace of technological innovation—from robotics and AI to rollable laptops and transparent TVs. Yet,…
Blog
What’s contributing to the current California wildfires
In the last few weeks, Southern California has experienced many wildfires including the destructive Palisades and Eaton fires. While we…
Blog
Is Congress even trying? 3,248 new rules vs. 175 laws
In 2024, federal agencies issued 3,248 rules and regulations, while Congress enacted only 175 laws. I refer to the simple ratio—19 rules…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Draining the swamp with Jim Bovard
In this week’s episode we cover fake endangered species, Pennsylvania’s climate policy showdown, a robust defense of property rights in…
Blog
Hayek on Facebook’s community notes
Meta is going to stop using professional fact-checkers for Facebook posts. My colleague Jessica Melugin is relieved that Meta is finally publicly…
Blog
Gas stoves are great
The recent approval of a ballot initiative in Washington state to protect natural gas access for consumers has me ruminating on the gas stove issue.
Blog
Reports of American manufacturing’s death are greatly exaggerated
In an op-ed being syndicated by InsideSources, I take on one of the most persistent myths in politics: that American manufacturing is in…
Blog
Congress needs to undo Biden’s sweeping attack on offshore drilling
Today, President Joe Biden announced that he is blocking more than 625 million acres of US ocean from future offshore drilling. The two…
Blog
Another last-minute Biden appliance regulation – this time tankless water heaters
At this point, it is easier to name the major home appliances that have not been hit with bad regulations from the Biden administration…
Blog
This week in ridiculous regulations: Seat belts and eagle possession
This week’s roundup will be a little different than usual. Since the new year began mid-week, and I already published a breakdown of 2024’s year-end…
Blog
Biden’s regulatory landscape: A year-end analysis
As we ring in 2025, the Federal Register reveals a noteworthy chapter in regulatory history under the Joe Biden administration. We take our traditional year-end look at it here. The…
Blog
2024 Regulation roundup
All the major regulatory numbers for 2024’s new regulations are now in the books. Here are the highlights, followed by a little analysis and a preview…
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)…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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.
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…
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…
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…
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.
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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,…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: The value of work with David Bahnsen
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…