The Regulatory Costberg is melting — or is it? An update on Trump’s “one-in, ten-out” initiative          

Red Tape Regulation

In the first Trump administration, the longstanding Regulatory Plan and Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions (the Agenda) was instrumental in assessing the administration’s “one-in, two-out” regulatory reform program.

By mid-year 2026, we’d largely given up on the Agenda’s timely appearance after a months-late Spring 2025 edition, followed by no Fall 2025 or Spring 2026 editions at all.

So instead we assembled our own June 30 inventory of Executive Order 12866 significant rules published in the Federal Register to provide an Independence Day snapshot of rules added and subtracted in 2026 for purposes of assessing the Trump administration’s “one-in, ten-out” campaign under EO 14192 (Unleashing Prosperity Through Deregulation).

That survey found deregulatory actions outnumbering regulatory ones by roughly two to one—59 significant deregulatory versus 28 regulatory actions, alongside 23 technical corrections, programmatic actions, or other measures. Of course, under the “one-in, ten-out” policy, those 28 significant regulatory actions ultimately require substantially greater offsets, but those offsets need not come exclusively from other significant rules.

Now, however, we have an update on the costliest tier of rules straight from the horse’s mouth.

Over Independence Day weekend, the administration finally released its 2026 Unified Agenda and Regulatory Plan, allowing a fresh assessment of the most economically consequential rules finalized—or eliminated—over the past several months. (The Plan is normally issued in the fall, which might mean this will be 2026’s sole Agenda; let’s hope not.) We already provided a general overview of the new Agenda, as well as a look at which departments and agencies have been most active.

We noted last week that 345 rules in the pipeline qualify as economically significant (with annual economic effects of at least $100 million), compared with 243 in Trump’s previous Spring 2025 Agenda. That increase signals not more regulatory activity, but reflects the fact that deregulatory activity itself must often be conducted through the Administrative Procedure Act’s notice-and-comment process to satisfy the administration’s deregulatory goals. Counts at the active, long-term, and recently completed stages across 34 departments and agencies appear below:

2026 Economically Significant Rules Breakdown

by Department, Agency and Commission

(345 Rules Anticipated to have $100 Million Annual Economic Effects)

  Total
Rules		 Active: Completed Long-term
Pre-rule Proposed Final
All Agencies 345 5 141 73 64 62
Dept. of Agriculture 16   8 2 4 2
Dept. of Commerce 3   1     2
Dept. of Education 2       2  
Dept. of Energy 18   4 14    
Dept. of Health & Human Services 65   34 8 15 8
Dept. of Homeland Security 12   3 5 3 1
Dept. of Housing and Urban Development 1   1      
Dept. of the Interior 4   2   2  
Dept. of Justice 8   4 3   1
Dept. of Labor 29   13 10 4 2
Dept. of State 3       3  
Dept. of Transportation 12 3 5 1 3  
Dept. of Treasury 20   7 9 3 1
Dept. of Veterans’ Affairs 18   2 6 3 7
Environmental Protection Agency 24   9 5 7 3
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau 1     1    
Commodity Futures Trading Commission 5   1   4  
Consumer Product Safety Commission 5   1 1 2 1
Council on Environmental Quality 1       1  
Equal Employment Opportunity Comm. 3   3      
Federal Acquisition Regulation 1     1    
Federal Communications Commission 2     1   1
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation 7   3 1 1 2
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission 4   3   1  
Federal Housing Finance Administration 1       1  
Federal Reserve System 6   4 1 1  
Millennium Challenge Corporation 1     1    
National Credit Union Administration 1   1      
Federal Trade Commission 2       2  
Nuclear Regulatory Commission 1       1  
Office of Personnel Management 1       1  
Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation 1     1    
Securities and Exchange Commission 34 2 31     1
Small Business Administration 33   1 2   30
TOTAL 345 5 141 73 64 62

Source: Compiled by Clyde Wayne Crews Jr. from “The Regulatory Plan and the Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions, 2026”

Of Trump’s 345 economically significant rules, 64 have recently been completed, compared with 40 in last year’s lone Unified Agenda. A breakdown of those 64 actions appears in the Supplement at the end of this article, along with whether each carries the official “Deregulatory” designation—a classification that disappeared during the Biden administration.

As it turns out, economically significant rules currently show a two-for-one “official” offset similar to my midyear tally of the aforementioned slightly larger set of more broadly significant actions, even before accounting for guidance withdrawals and non-significant actions that also qualify as offsets under the administration’s “one-in, ten-out” executive order. The breakdown of 12-in to 25-out appears below.

Completed Economically Significant Deregulatory and Regulatory Actions in the 2026 Unified Agenda

An apples-to-apples comparison of rules out to rules in

Department/Agency Deregulatory Regulatory Programmatic /
Potentially
Interventionist*
Dept. of Agriculture     4
Dept. of Education   1 1
Dept. of Health and Human Services 4 2 9
Dept. of Homeland Security     3
Dept. of the Interior     2
Dept. of Labor 3 1  
Dept. of State     3
Dept. of Transportation 2 1  
Dept. of the Treasury 1 1 1
Dept. of Veterans’ Affairs 2   1
Environmental Protection Agency 4 3  
Commodity Futures Trading Commission 2 2  
Consumer Product Safety Commission     2
Council on Environmental Quality     1
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation 1    
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission   1  
Federal Housing Finance Agency 1    
Federal Reserve System 1    
Federal Trade Commission 2    
Nuclear Regulatory Commission 1    
Office of Personnel Management 1    
TOTAL: 64 25 12 27
RATIO: Deregulatory to Regulatory 2.1

Source: Compiled by CWCJr. from “The Regulatory Plan and Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions,” 2026 edition

*“Programmatic/Potentially Interventionist” are the rules the administration has labeled “Fully or Partially Exempt,” “Not subject to, not significant,” or “Other”

For decades, the Unified Agenda symbolized regulatory sprawl. Under Biden, especially following the Modernizing Regulatory Review initiative, OMB’s role shifted from regulatory watchdog toward promoter of an expansive progressive regulatory agenda. Trump has reversed that trajectory to a degree, demonstrating reforms that deserve permanent statutory footing rather than remaining dependent upon presidential discretion.

Although the Unified Agenda search page no longer includes the convenient “Deregulatory” filter that existed during Trump’s first term (OMB and Congress: please bring it back), each individual rule entry still identifies its EO 14192 status as deregulatory, regulatory, fully or partially exempt, other, or “Not subject to, not significant.”

The exempt and “Other” categories, which I label PPI (programmatic/potentially interventionist), largely consist of actions implementing spending programs, transfer payments, subsidies, insurance programs, payment formulas, and other statutory administrative functions rather than imposing or eliminating conventional private-sector compliance obligations. Nevertheless, many of these actions are interventionist in an economic sense, expanding or harmfully reshaping federal involvement in markets. They therefore belong in what I call the regulatory Costberg. Although the administration does not count them as either regulatory or deregulatory for purposes of EO 14192, they remain highly relevant to any broader accounting of government’s economic footprint.

In any event, among the deregulatory actions detailed in the Supplement, several are highly consequential economically. These include the Environmental Protection Agency’s greenhouse gas endangerment rescission effort and the repeal of power plant hazardous air pollutant amendments, the Federal Trade Commission’s non-compete rule withdrawal, the Food and Drug Administration’s laboratory-developed tests rescission, and the Council on Environmental Quality’s removal of National Environmental Policy Act Implementing regulations (curiously classified as “Other” rather than “Deregulatory”). So while the apples-to-apples economically significant rule count is two-to-one deregulatory as we await the incorporation of “oranges” to meet the ten-for-one mandate, the economic weight of the deregulatory side may well vastly exceed that of the regulatory side (where additions include measures such as the Department of Transportation’s Rear Seat Belt Reminder System).

For now, the administration can credibly claim to be offsetting economically significant regulations, but it has yet to demonstrate the full ten-for-one accounting envisioned by EO 14192. That evidence may emerge as agencies rely on guidance withdrawals, smaller deregulatory actions, and other qualifying offsets beyond economically significant rules, and these should be fully detailed.

Whatever the final tally, this episode underscores a larger institutional lesson. Congress should much more closely monitor and streamline the regulatory enterprise. The Unified Agenda should once again become a timely, transparent scorecard of both regulatory and deregulatory actions, supported by complete reporting and permanent statutory requirements rather than administrative custom. Regulatory reform is difficult enough without flying blind.

Supplement: Full Inventory of 64 Completed Economically Significant Actions

2026 Regulatory Plan and Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions

Depicting Deregulatory, Regulatory, & Programmatic/Potentially Interventionist*

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

  1. USDA/FSA, Emergency Livestock Relief Programs, 0560-AI72, FoPE
  2. USDA/FSA, Agricultural Disaster Indemnity Programs, 0560-AI81, FoPE
  3. USDA/FSA, Changes to Agriculture Risk Coverage, Price Loss Coverage, and Dairy Margin Coverage Programs, 0560-AI83, FoPE
  4. USDA/FSA, Farmer Bridge Assistance (FBA) Program, 0560-AI87, FoPE

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

  1. ED/OPE, Reimagining and Improving Student Education (RISE), 1840-AD98, Other
  2. ED/OPE, One Big Beautiful Bill Act: Pell Grants and Workforce Pell Grants, 1840-AD99, Regulatory

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

  1. HHS/FDA, Medical Devices; Laboratory Developed Tests; Rescission, 0910-AJ05, Deregulatory
  2. HHS/CDC, Control of Communicable Diseases; Foreign Quarantine, 0920-AA88, Other
  3. HHS/CMS, Administrative Simplification: Adoption of Standards for Health Care Attachment Transactions and Electronic Signatures (CMS-0053), 0938-AT38, Regulatory
  4. HHS/CMS, Hospital Inpatient Prospective Payment Systems for Acute Care Hospitals; the Long-Term Care Hospital Prospective Payment System; and FY 2026 Rates (CMS-1833), 0938-AV45, Regulatory
  5. HHS/CMS, FY 2026 Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) Prospective Payment System and Consolidated Billing and Updates to the Value-Based Purchasing and Quality Reporting Programs (CMS-1827), 0938-AV47, Deregulatory
  6. HHS/CMS, FY 2026 Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility (IRF) Prospective Payment System Rate Update and Quality Reporting Program (CMS-1829), 0938-AV48, Deregulatory
  7. HHS/CMS, FY 2026 Hospice Wage Index, Payment Rate Update, and Quality Reporting Requirements (CMS-1835), 0938-AV49, Fully or Partially Exempt
  8. HHS/CMS, CY 2026 Revisions to Payment Policies Under the Physician Fee Schedule and Other Revisions to Medicare Part B (CMS-1832), 0938-AV50, Other
  9. HHS/CMS, CY 2026 Hospital Outpatient PPS Policy Changes and Payment Rates and Ambulatory Surgical Center Payment System Policy Changes and Payment Rates (CMS-1834), 0938-AV51, Fully or Partially Exempt
  10. HHS/CMS, CY 2026 Changes to the End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) Prospective Payment System and Quality Incentive Program (CMS-1830), 0938-AV52, Deregulatory
  11. HHS/CMS, CY 2026 Home Health Prospective Payment System Rate and Durable Medical Equipment, Prosthetics, Orthotics, and Supplies Competitive Bidding Program Updates (CMS-1828), 0938-AV53, Fully or Partially Exempt
  12. HHS/CMS, CY 2026 Inpatient Hospital Deductible and Hospital and Extended Care Services Coinsurance Amounts (CMS-8089), 0938-AV54, Fully or Partially Exempt
  13. HHS/CMS, CY 2026 Part A Premiums for the Uninsured Aged and for Certain Disabled Individuals Who Have Exhausted Other Entitlement (CMS-8090), 0938-AV55, Fully or Partially Exempt
  14. HHS/CMS, Medicare Part B Monthly Actuarial Rates, Premium Rates, and Annual Deductible Beginning January 1, 2026 (CMS-8091), 0938-AV56, Fully or Partially Exempt
  15. HHS/CMS, Medicaid Program; Preserving Medicaid Funding for Vulnerable Populations-Closing a Health Care-Related Tax Loophole (CMS-2448), 0938-AV58, Other

DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

  1. DHS/USCIS, Securing the Border, 1615-AC92, Fully or Partially Exempt
  2. DHS/USCIS, Weighted Selection Process for Registrants and Petitioners Seeking To File Cap-Subject H-1B Petitions, 1615-AD01, Fully or Partially Exempt
  3. DHS/USCBP, Collection of Biometric Data From Aliens Upon Entry To and Exit From the United States, 1651-AB12, Fully or Partially Exempt

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

  1. DOI/FWS, Migratory Bird Hunting; 2025–26 Migratory Game Bird Hunting Regulations, 1018-BH65, Fully or Partially Exempt
  2. DOI/FWS, Migratory Bird Hunting; 2026–27 Migratory Game Bird Hunting Regulations, 1018-BI69, Fully or Partially Exempt

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

  1. DOL/EBSA, Investment Advice Fiduciary Under ERISA, 1210-AC36, Deregulatory
  2. DOL/WHD, Defining and Delimiting the Exemptions for Executive, Administrative, Professional, Outside Sales, and Computer Employees, 1235-AA39, Regulatory
  3. DOL/WHD, Nondisplacement of Qualified Workers Under Service Contracts: Rescission of Regulations, 1235-AA45, Deregulatory
  4. DOL/WHD, Application of the Fair Labor Standards Act to Domestic Service, 1235-AA55, Deregulatory

DEPARTMENT OF STATE

  1. STATE, Protecting Life in Foreign Assistance, 1400-AG24, Fully or Partially Exempt
  2. STATE, Combating Gender Ideology in Foreign Assistance, 1400-AG25, Fully or Partially Exempt
  3. STATE, Combating Discriminatory Equity Ideology in Foreign Assistance Rules, 1400-AG26, Fully or Partially Exempt

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

  1. DOT/NHTSA, Rear Seat Belt Reminder System, 2127-AL37, Regulatory
  2. DOT/PHMSA, Pipeline Safety: Class Location Requirements, 2137-AF29, Deregulatory
  3. DOT/PHMSA, Hazardous Materials: Eliminating Unnecessary Burdens On Fuel Transportation, 2137-AF41, Deregulatory

DEPARTMENT OF TREASURY

  1. TREAS/FINCEN, Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism Programs, 1506-AB52, Regulatory
  2. TREAS/FINCEN, Delaying the Effective Date of the AML/CFT Program and Suspicious Activity Report Filing Requirements for Registered Investment Advisers and Exempt Reporting Advisers, 1506-AB69, Deregulatory
  3. TREAS/IRS, SECURE 2.0 Act Updates to Catch-up Contribution Rules Under Section 414(v), 1545-BR11, Not subject to, not significant

DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS

  1. VA, Extending Deadline for Debtor to Request a Waiver, 2900-AS18, Deregulatory
  2. VA, Evaluative Rating: Impact of Medication, 2900-AS49, Deregulatory
  3. VA, Extension of Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers Eligibility for Legacy Participants and Legacy Applicants, 2900-AR28, Other

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

  1. EPA/OW, Water Quality Standards to Protect Aquatic Life in the Delaware River, 2040-AG30, Regulatory
  2. EPA/OW, Effluent Limitations Guidelines and Standards for the Steam Electric Power Generating Point Source Category – Deadline Extensions, 2040-AG54, Deregulatory
  3. EPA/OAR, New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) and Emission Guidelines (EG) for Large Municipal Waste Combustors (MWCs), 2060-AO18, Regulatory
  4. EPA/OAR, Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) Program: Set 2, 2060-AW23, Regulatory
  5. EPA/OAR, Reconsideration of Standards of Performance for New, Reconstructed, and Modified Sources and Emissions Guidelines for Existing Sources: Oil and Natural Gas Sector Climate Review, 2060-AW35, Deregulatory
  6. EPA/OAR, Repeal of Amendments to National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants: Coal- and Oil-Fired Electric Utility Steam Generating Units, 2060-AW68, Deregulatory
  7. EPA/OAR, Rescission of The Greenhouse Gas Endangerment Finding and Motor Vehicle Greenhouse Gas Emission Standards Under The Clean Air Act, 2060-AW71, Deregulatory

COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION

  1. CFTC, Risk Management for Swap Dealers and Futures Commission Merchants; Amendments, 3038-AE59, Deregulatory
  2. CFTC, Withdrawal of Operational Resilience Framework for Certain Commission Registrants, 3038-AF23, Deregulatory
  3. CFTC, Amendments to Appendices to Parts 43 and 45 Adding Supplemental Reporting Fields, 3038-AF26, Regulatory
  4. CFTC, Affiliations Requirements, 3038-AF42, Regulatory

CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION

  1. CPSC, Regulatory Options for Table Saws, 3041-AC31, Other
  2. CPSC, Certificates of Compliance, 3041-AC94, Other

COUNCIL ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY

  1. CEQ, Removal of National Environmental Policy Act Implementing Regulations, 0331-AA10, Other

FEDERAL DEPOSIT INSURANCE CORPORATION

  1. FDIC, Modifications to Supplementary Leverage Capital Requirements for Large Banking Organizations; Total Loss-Absorbing Capacity Requirements for US Global Systemically Important Bank Holding Companies, 3064-AG11, Deregulatory

FEDERAL ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION

  1. FERC, Building for the Future Through Electric Regional Transmission Planning and Cost Allocation, 1902-AG29, Regulatory

FEDERAL HOUSING FINANCE AGENCY

  1. FHFA, 2026-2028 Enterprise Housing Goals, 2590-AB59, Deregulatory

FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM

  1. FRS, Regulation H, Q, and YY–Regulatory Capital Rules: Regulatory Capital, Enhanced Supplementary Leverage Ratio Standards for U.S. Global Systemically Important Bank Holding Companies (Docket No: R-1604), 7100-AF03, Deregulatory

FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION

  1. FTC, Combating Auto Retail Scams Trade Regulation Rule, 3084-AB72, Deregulatory
  2. FTC, Non-Compete Clause Rule, 3084-AB74, Deregulatory

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

  1. NRC, Increased Enrichment of Conventional and Accident Tolerant Fuel Designs for Light-Water Reactors [NRC-2020-0034], 3150-AK79, Deregulatory

OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT

  1. OPM, Federal Employees Health Benefits Program: Verification requirements for family member coverage, 3206-AP08, Deregulatory

* “Programmatic/Potentially Interventionist” are the rules the administration has labeled “Fully or Partially Exempt,” “Not subject to, not significant,” or “Other”

For more on the 2026 Unified Agenda and progress on “one-in, ten-out,” see:

Clyde Wayne Crews, “Mid-year 2026: Is Washington actually deregulating?” Competitive Enterprise Institute OpenMarket (blog), June 30, 2026.

Clyde Wayne Crews, “Diary of deconstruction: White House releases 2026 Unified Agenda of Federal Regulations,” Competitive Enterprise Institute OpenMarket (blog), July 6, 2026.

Clyde Wayne Crews, “The Rulemakers: Which federal agencies dominate Trump’s 2026 Agenda?,” Competitive Enterprise Institute OpenMarket (blog), July 7, 2026.