There are two main areas in which Congress can enact meaningful reform. The first is to rein in regulatory guidance documents, which we refer to as “regulatory dark matter,” whereby agencies regulate through Federal Register notices, guidance documents, and other means outside standard rulemaking procedure. The second is to enact a series of reforms to increase agency transparency and accountability of all regulation and guidance. These include annual regulatory report cards for rulemaking agencies and regulatory cost estimates from the Office of Management and Budget for more than just a small subset of rules.
In 2019, President Trump signed two executive orders aimed at stopping the practice of agencies using guidance documents to effectively implement policy without going through the legally required notice and comment process.
Featured Posts
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: FDR’s political legacy with David Beito
In this week’s episode we talk about communist housing policy in New York City, the best economics and history books to read…
News Release
Report urges yearly sunset for all government regulations following Idaho success
A new Competitive Enterprise Institute report urges an annual sunset date for all government regulations, offering a case study on this reform already implemented by…
Blog
New CEI study: Zero-based regulations
A new CEI study by Alex Adams looks at a regulatory reform approach that succeeded in Idaho: zero-based regulation. The idea is similar to…
Search Posts
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What happened to never-needed regulations
CEI led a never-needed campaign during the COVID-19 pandemic. The idea was simple: if a regulation was causing harm in good times, it was probably…
Blog
This week in ridiculous regulations: Helicopter hoists and migrant children
President Trump announced new auto tariffs that will take effect next week, raising the price of average-priced new cars from $3,000 to $10,000. Agencies issued…
Blog
Trump’s deregulation push: Several steps forward—and some sideways
As I cover in a new column at Forbes, Trump 2.0 has brought a flurry of executive orders aimed at deregulation—one-in, ten-out rules,…
Blog
This week in ridiculous regulations: Helicopter hoists and migrant children
President Trump announced new auto tariffs that will take effect next week, raising the price of average-priced new cars from $3,000 to $10,000. Agencies issued…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Working for a better tomorrow with Vinnie Vernuccio
In this week’s episode we cover America’s founding principles, the Cato Institute’s recommendations for reforming financial regulation, why Republicans shouldn’t be busting…
Blog
This week in ridiculous regulations: Volatile gas and the Gulf of Mexico
The Federal Reserve held interest rates steady, and President Trump put on some pressure to lower them. Trump also fired Democratic FTC commissioners on unclear…
Law and Liberty
A Revolution Against Regulation
One of the great threats to freedom in the United States today is what we at the Competitive Enterprise Institute call “…
CPAC
CPAC 2025 and Beyond: A Roadmap to Lasting Regulatory Reform
CPAC has CEI’s expert speak on a panel about regulatory reform On Friday, February 21st, 2025, attendees at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC)…
News Release
Surfing the environmental permitting bureaucracy in Hawaii: CEI report
Hawaii’s environmental permitting system sits at a crucial moment in history, with the destruction of homes and businesses on Maui in the August 2023 wildfires…
Study
Aloha Approvals
Hawaii’s permitting system is at a critical juncture, faced with the dual challenges of rebuilding in the wake of the 2023 Maui wildfires and addressing…
Blog
Let the deconstruction commence
Congress’s actionable hierarchy for administrative state burial & constitutional resurrection Alongside restoring fiscal sanity, Congress must establish a hierarchy of actions to make Donald Trump’s…
Blog
14 priorities in slashing spending and regulation before ‘America 250’—#7 will shock you!
This past week, the House and Senate passed a continuing resolution (CR) that preserves Biden-era spending levels while largely turning a blind eye to…
Blog
This week in ridiculous regulations: NEPA and refrigerators
President Trump delayed some tariffs against Canada and Mexico, but let others take effect. He also enacted a sixth round of tariffs against China and…
News Release
Trump’s speech to Congress spotlights deregulatory efforts: CEI analysis
On Tuesday evening, President Trump delivered a speech to a joint session of Congress where he highlighted his administration’s deregulatory efforts across the federal government.
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 major…
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 address.
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 Hackman…
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 to…
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 principles…
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 federal…
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 housing…
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 tape…
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, and…
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 “Regulatory…
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 office.
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, reforms…
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. However,…
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. Among…
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 employees,…
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 push.
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. CEI…
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 Energy,…
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 for…
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 New…
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 numbers, as…
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 2024 Federal Register closed…
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 of…
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) of…
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. The…
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. Our…
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 weekend.
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 ranging…
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 networks,…
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 dictatorship…
Blog
Biden breaks Federal Register record
Joe Biden’s administration has set a new Federal Register record with 96,088 pages as of December 3, 2024, surpassing the Obama administration’s 95,894 pages in…
Blog
This week in ridiculous regulations: Milk marketing and sport fishing
It was a shortened week on account of Thanksgiving. Agencies issued new regulations ranging from fed cattle to general service lamps. On to the data: • Agencies issued 57 final regulations last week,…
Blog
This week in ridiculous regulations: Pear handling and airport construction
CEI founder Fred Smith passed away at age 83. Few people were as effective as Fred in pushing back against regulatory excesses, and nobody did it…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Political drinking with Jarrett Dieterle
In this week’s episode we cover student loans, revenue from tariffs, democracy in Hong Kong, and the impact of podcasts…
Blog
From cuts to costs: Why federal paperwork keeps piling up
The Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) release of the 2023 Information Collection Budget (ICB) paints a troubling picture of not just of growing federal…
Blog
This week in ridiculous regulations: Mergers and mail
The 2024 Federal Register topped 90,000 pages and is now the second-longest ever, dating back to 1936, with more than a month still to go.
Staff & Scholars
Clyde Wayne Crews
Fred L. Smith Fellow in Regulatory Studies
- Business and Government
- Consumer Freedom
- Deregulation
Ryan Young
Senior Economist and Director of Publications
- Antitrust
- Business and Government
- Regulatory Reform
Fred L. Smith, Jr.
Founder; Chairman Emeritus
- Automobiles and Roads
- Aviation
- Business and Government
Sam Kazman
Counsel Emeritus
- Antitrust
- Automobiles and Roads
- Banking and Finance
Marlo Lewis, Jr.
Senior Fellow
- Climate
- Energy
- Energy and Environment