Trump orders feds to slash 10 regulations for every new one

President Trump ordered federal agencies to jettison 10 regulations for every new one established, hearkening back to a move he made during his first stint in the White House. 

The president on Friday signed an executive order, dubbed “Unleashing Prosperity Through Deregulation,” that whenever an agency creates a rule, it must find 10 old rules, regulations or guidance documents to ditch.

Mr. Trump argued in his order that the “ever-expanding morass” of regulations was imposing harsh costs on businesses and hampering economic growth domestically and globally, and are often tough for companies and Americans to understand. 

“It is the policy of my administration to significantly reduce the private expenditures required to comply with federal regulations to secure America’s economic prosperity and national security and the highest possible quality of life for each citizen,” Mr. Trump’s order read. 

His order requires that throughout fiscal 2025, which ends Sept. 30, the cost of all new and repealed regulations be “significantly less than zero.”

The president also tasked the director of the Office of Management and Budget to develop guidance for the regulatory slash-and-burn. 

Mr. Trump’s pick to lead the OMB, Russell Vought, has met resistance from Senate Democrats during his confirmation process, particularly for his reported involvement in crafting a memo that ordered the freeze of federal aid and grants that has since been rescinded. 

Still, Mr. Vought, who served as OMB director during Mr. Trump’s first stint in the White House, was advanced out of committee and will get a floor vote for his confirmation. 

The president’s latest order is similar to one he made during his first term, when he said that for every new rule, agencies had to slash two old ones. 

The White House contended in a fact sheet that Mr. Trump’s new order will cut into the “$1.7 trillion in costs on the American people” imposed by the Biden administration. “In his first term … not only was this 2-for-1 goal achieved; the first Trump administration eliminated five and a half regulations for every one new regulation issued. 

“This executive order builds on President Trump’s previous success to improve daily lives of the American people by reducing unnecessary, burdensome and costly federal regulations.”