The White House is reportedly scrambling to make President Joe Biden’s regulatory agenda irreversible in the event that former President Donald Trump wins the 2024 election, according to the Wall Street Journal.
If Trump retakes the White House in the 2024 election, he is planning to sign several resolutions under the 1996 Congressional Review Act to reverse scores of Biden-era regulations, people close to the former president told the WSJ. While Trump plots his 2025 agenda, senior Biden officials are reportedly working to ensure that his predecessor is unable to make such adjustments in office.
“They’re all looking back to what happened in 2017 and thinking, ‘That could repeat itself in 2025,’” Steven Balla, the co-director of George Washington University’s Regulatory Studies Center, which provides analysis on the Congressional Review Act, told the outlet.
“When re-elected, President Trump will immediately cut Joe Biden’s burdensome regulations, unleash our domestic energy industry, and implement a pro-worker agenda that will uplift all Americans,” Trump campaign spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt told the WSJ.
President Joe Biden delivers remarks announcing 31 communities across the country designated as Regional Innovation and Technology Hubs by the Department of Commerce Economic Development Administration, Monday, October 23, 2023, in the South Court Auditorium of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building at the White House. (Official White House Photo by Adam Schultz)
Officials within the Biden administration told the WSJ they have until the end of May to implement further regulations before Trump will be able to undo them.
Under the Congressional Review Act, Congress has the power to review policies and regulations put into place by the executive branch, the WSJ reported. The act is usually utilized when there is a transition period in the White House, according to the outlet.
If Trump were to win the presidency and Republicans took control of Congress, they would be able to target regulations that were introduced within 60 working days of the end of this session of Congress, the WSJ reported. That has prompted the rush from the Biden administration to get as many regulations jammed in during the spring as possible.
Prior to Trump’s first term, the CRA had only been used once to successfully overturn regulations, by President George W. Bush. Trump used the authority 16 times to undo Obama-era provisions, according to the WSJ. Biden then used the law three times. (RELATED: Biden Admin Extends Obamacare To Illegal Immigrants Covered By DACA)
As the 2024 election draws closer, the Biden White House has enacted several regulations, which officials have told the outlet shouldn’t be taken as a sign that the administration is planning for a 2024 loss. As a part of those regulations, the Federal Trade Commission issued a ban on non-compete clauses in April and the the Department of Transportation is now requiring airlines to provide customers with refunds if their flight is canceled, WSJ reported.
Biden is currently trailing the former president in several hypothetical matchups across key swing states. Trump is ahead of Biden by five points in North Carolina, three points in Georgia, four points in Arizona, and two points in both Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, according to an April poll by Emerson College and The Hill. Trump also has a lead across Michigan and Nevada, though more narrow, leading by one point, the poll shows.
