The Story Thus Far: Administrative Law
Ryan Hayward // 3/16/17 //
Stephen Bannon has issued a declaration of war on the administrative state. The Trump Administration appears eager to fight that battle by changing the rules of the game for regulation.
Trump’s executive order requiring that two regulations be rescinded for each new one added is analyzed at Notice & Comment by Jonathan Masur, who argues the regulation is “deeply incoherent.”
- Eric Posner (EricPosner), Michael Dorf (Dorf on Law), Howard Shelanski (Washington Post), Robert J. Shiller (NYT), and Megan McArdle (Bloomberg) also analyze the executive order and conclude that it is unwise and unlikely to achieve Trump’s desired effects.
- At Bloomberg, Cass Sunstein finds “sensible fine print” in the executive order.
- The Economist also finds a bit of good in the order, arguing that it provides positive incentives for agencies to revisit past decisions.
Public Citizen, the Natural Resources Defense Council, and the Communications Workers of America filed suit against the Trump administration, claiming that Trump exceeded his constitutional authority in issuing the “2-for-1” executive order. Their complaint also alleges that the order violates the Administrative Procedure Act (Politico).
- Here is a copy of the complaint.
With the House of Representatives having passed a bill to eliminate Chevron deference, Michael Dorf (Dorf on Law) analyzes whether the doctrine skews conservative or liberal and concludes the latter.