Regulatory Freeze Pending Review

Executive Orders

TLDR

This executive order mandates that all federal agencies must immediately stop creating new rules until Trump appointees review them. Already published rules that haven’t taken effect are delayed 60 days. Emergency exceptions require OMB approval. This freeze affects all types of regulations and guidance documents, giving the new administration control over pending rules.

This executive order implements a significant regulatory freeze across federal agencies.

Immediate halt on new rules:

  • All federal departments and agencies must stop proposing or issuing new rules until they are reviewed by Trump-appointed agency heads
  • Agency heads can delegate review powers to other Trump appointees
  • Emergency situations can be exempted by the OMB Director

Withdrawal and review requirements:

  • Rules sent to the Office of Federal Register but not yet published must be withdrawn
  • Published rules that haven’t taken effect are subject to a 60-day postponement
  • During the 60-day review period, agencies may:
    • Open new comment periods
    • Reevaluate pending petitions
    • Further delay implementation if necessary

The freeze applies to:

  • Traditional administrative rules under 5 USC 551(4)
  • Regulatory actions as defined in EO 12866
  • Guidance documents previously covered by EO 13891
  • Notices of inquiry and proposed rulemaking
  • Agency statements of general applicability

This order effectively halts the regulatory pipeline, giving the Trump administration control over all pending regulations. It’s a common tool used by new administrations to assert control over the regulatory process, but the scope is notably broad.

Potential concerns:

  • The order could delay implementation of critical regulations
  • The broad definition of “rule” means even informal guidance documents are affected
  • The retroactive clause suggests possible reversal of last-minute actions by the previous administration

The OMB Director has significant power under this order:

  • Oversees implementation
  • Can exempt emergency rules
  • Controls review of Paperwork Reduction Act collections
  • Has authority to publish in Federal Register

This regulatory freeze represents a significant assertion of executive control over the administrative state, potentially affecting thousands of rules and guidance documents across federal agencies.

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, I hereby order all executive departments and agencies to take the following steps:

(1) Do not propose or issue any rule in any manner, including by sending a rule to the Office of the Federal Register (the “OFR”), until a department or agency head appointed or designated by the President after noon on January 20, 2025, reviews and approves the rule. The department or agency head may delegate this power of review and approval to any other person so appointed or designated by the President, consistent with applicable law. The Director or Acting Director of the Office of Management and Budget (the “OMB Director”) may exempt any rule that he deems necessary to address emergency situations or other urgent circumstances, including rules subject to statutory or judicial deadlines that require prompt action.

(2) Immediately withdraw any rules that have been sent tothe OFR but not published in the_Federal Register_, so that they can be reviewed and approved as described in paragraph1, subject to the exceptions described inparagraph 1.

(3) Consistent with applicable law and subject to the exceptions described in paragraph 1, consider postponing for 60 days from the date of this memorandum the effective date for any rules that have been published in the_Federal Register__,_ or any rules that have been issued in any manner but have not taken effect, for the purpose of reviewing any questions of fact, law, and policy that the rules may raise. During this 60-day period, where appropriate and consistent with applicable law, consider opening a comment period to allow interested parties to provide comments about issues of fact, law, and policy raised by the rules postponed under this memorandum, and consider reevaluating pending petitions involving such rules. As appropriate and consistent with applicable law, and where necessary to continue to review these questions of fact, law, and policy, consider further delaying, or publishing for notice and comment, proposed rules further delaying such rules beyond the 60-day period.

(4) Following the postponement described in paragraph 3, no further action needs to be taken for those rules that raise no substantial questions of fact, law, or policy. For those rules that raise substantial questions of fact, law, or policy, agencies should notify and take further appropriate action in consultation with the OMB Director.

(5) Comply in all circumstances with any applicable Executive Orders concerning regulatory management.

As used in this memorandum, “rule” has the definition set forth in section 551(4), title 5, United States Code. It also includes any “regulatory action,” as defined in section 3(e) of Executive Order 12866 of September 30, 1993, as amended, and any “guidance document” as defined in section 2(b) of Executive Order 13891 of October 9, 2019 (Promoting the Rule of Law Through Improved Agency Guidance Documents), when that order was in effect. Thus, the requirements of this memorandum apply not only to “rules” as defined in section 551(4) of title 5, but also to any substantive action by an agency (normally published in the_Federal Register_) that promulgates or is expected to lead to the promulgation of a final rule or regulation, including notices of inquiry, advance notices of proposed rulemaking, and notices of proposed rulemaking. They shall also apply to any agency statement of general applicability and future effect that sets forth a policy on a statutory, regulatory, or technical issue or an interpretation of a statutory or regulatory issue.

The OMB Director shall oversee the implementation of this memorandum, and any communications regarding any matters pertaining to this review should be addressed to the OMB Director. The OMB Director isalso authorized to establish a process to review pending collections of information under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, as codified in chapter 35, title 44, United States Code, and to take actions that the OMB Director deems appropriate based on that review, consistent with applicable law.

Should actions be identified that were undertaken before noon on January 20, 2025, that frustrate the purpose underlying this memorandum, I may modify or extend this memorandum, to require that department and agency heads consider taking steps to address those actions.

The OMB Director is authorized and directed to publish this memorandum in the_Federal Register_.

This memorandum shall be implemented consistent with applicable law.