BIDEN DOT SCRATCHES TRUMP-ERA “RULE ON RULES”
April 15, 2021
On March 24, 2021, DOT issued a final rule on Administrative Rulemaking, Guidance, and Enforcement Procedures that largely revoked the Trump Administration DOT’s so-called “Rule on Rules” (84 Fed. Reg. 71,714), which had consolidated DOT’s administrative procedural rules into a single part of the Code of Federal Regulations (49 C.F.R. Part 5) in late 2019. DOT issued the repeal in response to a White House Executive Order in January 2021, E.O. 13992, that cancelled Trump-era regulatory reform task forces and directed federal agencies to delete procedural restrictions imposed by Trump-era regulatory reform orders. While DOT’s repeal was a technical adjustment of procedures for its staff – without immediate impact on regulated entities and thus finalized without notice and public comment – the change was a notable move to repudiate the Trump DOT’s approach to regulatory reform. The previous Administration had viewed new regulations with suspicion and sought to impose heightened discipline around cost benefit analyses in rulemaking and use of guidance documents in investigations. In contrast, the Biden Administration is expected to issue increased amounts of guidance and to press more aggressive positions in enforcement proceedings.
If you have any questions, please contact Evelyn Sahr (esahr@eckertseamans.com or 202-659-6622); Drew Derco (dderco@eckertseamans.com or 202-659-6665), or Andy Orr (aorr@eckertsemans.com or 202-659-6625).
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