Impact of Trump’s 646 deregulatory actions diluted by tariffs, executive orders

The Washington Times cites CEI’s Clyde Wayne Crews on the release of his new report, the 2026 edition of Ten Thousand Commandments.

Report author Clyde Wayne Crews Jr. said rulemaking under Mr. Trump in 2025 showed “extraordinary restraint relative to Biden’s record-setting years.” But he said Mr. Trump also “grew government intervention” elsewhere, including partial nationalization of some major companies.

The report also found that Mr. Trump’s reported annualized regulatory costs savings of about $15 billion “are offset by inflation applied to legacy economic costs.”

The Trump administration issued 646 deregulatory actions versus just 5 significant new regulatory actions, a 129-to-1 ratio, claiming $212 billion in savings for the economy.

However, just three rules account for more than 80% of the savings through rolling back regulations: the beneficial ownership reporting rule rollback, the Transportation Security Administration’s “shoe rule” [allowing airline passengers to keep on their shoes during security screening], and a Food and Drug Administration laboratory testing rule.

The bulk of the headline deregulatory number rests on a very small handful of actions, while hundreds of the other “deregulatory” entries are likely much more minor in real-world impact.

Read more at The Washington Times