Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, whom Republican President-elect Donald Trump chose to lead a new Department of Government Efficiency, have unveiled a plan to eliminate many of the federal regulations they say have been created by an undemocratic, unaccountable bureaucracy. Has disclosed.
Getting rid of federal agency regulations could be a big task, according to experts. Here’s a look at the obstacles and legal challenges Trump may face if he acts on the panel’s recommendations.
What are Doge’s plans?
In a Wall Street Journal opinion piece published on November 20, Musk and Ramaswamy said they and a “small team of small-government warriors” involved in federal agencies will review rules they consider invalid. He said the review will be guided by some recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions that have placed significant limits on agencies’ rulemaking powers.
According to the op-ed, DOGE will present its findings to Trump, who can issue executive orders immediately halting enforcement of specific rules and directing agencies to repeal them. Federal regulations affect every aspect of American society, from education, health care and immigration to environmental pollution, drug safety, tax policy and labor rights.
Musk and Ramaswamy said DOGE would also recommend massive layoffs at federal agencies and identify billions of dollars in government spending that is invalid because it was not authorized by Congress. He said that he aims to complete the work of the panel by the 250th anniversary of the country’s founding i.e. July 4, 2026.
Can the President repeal the regulations?
According to legal experts, Trump cannot rescind the rules on his own and instead would have to direct agencies to do so, which would not be legally binding in most cases. If an agency chooses to repeal a rule, the process will be governed by a complex law, the Administrative Procedure Act, which sets forth the procedures for doing so.
Agencies often repeal regulations adopted by the previous administration, but the process is lengthy, complex, and legally entangled, and many agencies lack the resources needed to repeal large numbers of regulations at once. it occurs.
To rescind a rule, the APA requires agencies to issue a detailed proposal, including legal justification and potential costs, and to accept and respond to public comments. This may take months or more.
Agency rules may also be waived by Congress with presidential approval, but only within a short period of their enactment, so that that process cannot be used to void old rules.
What can Trump do to stop the rules from going into effect?
There are federal laws that authorize the President to block certain agency regulations, such as certain immigration regulations. Otherwise, any call by Trump to halt enforcement of a rule is more like a recommendation, although a loyal appointee might be likely to follow it.
The agencies and their politically appointed heads have some independence in setting enforcement priorities. But they are legally bound to enforce the law in many cases, and cannot prevent it from imposing a regulation around the cumbersome process of repealing it, experts said.
And, any efforts by Trump and his appointees to block agencies from enforcing the rules will not prevent individuals from filing lawsuits alleging violations of them. Many agency rules are issued pursuant to laws that permit private lawsuits, such as environmental and wage laws.
Will agencies be sued for repealing the rules?
As many progressive groups and Democratic officials have made clear, moves by Trump and his appointees to dismantle existing regulations will face legal challenges. Lawsuits seeking to block revocation or reinstate rescinded regulations have become common, and typically claim that agencies failed to adequately justify their decisions or that the public Did not respond to concerns raised in comments.
The Trump administration has previously been rebuked on several occasions for not following those procedures in dismantling Obama-era policies.
If Trump follows through on DOGE’s recommendations, it would lead to a flood of lawsuits across the country, with mixed results.
Trump appointed 234 judges in his first term, including dozens of appellate court judges, and many have shown deep skepticism about the administrative powers long exercised by federal agencies. Opponents of Trump’s policies may turn to friendlier courts with more Democratic appointments, mirroring a trend of conservative and business groups bringing challenges to the Biden administration in some Texas courts.
How will the Supreme Court decisions guide Doge’s work?
In a 2022 decision, the Supreme Court ruled that agencies cannot address “major questions” with broad economic or social impact without the express permission of Congress. And in a landmark June decision, the court overturned its own precedent and said courts are no longer required to defer to an agency’s interpretation of an ambiguous law.
Musk and Ramaswamy said their review would focus on rules that are invalidated in light of the decisions, which were seen by conservative groups as a major victory in the campaign to rein in the “administrative state.” But the Supreme Court’s holdings in those cases were nuanced, and it will take years for courts to decide how they apply to individual rules, lawyers and other experts said.
Many of the rules are explicitly authorized by Congress or have been upheld by courts on their merits rather than deference, making it more difficult to justify repealing them under recent Supreme Court decisions.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
