President Trump’s Deregulation Effort Has Already Saved Families Thousands of Dollars

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TLDR

This memo contains misleading claims about regulatory costs under the Biden administration and Trump’s actions. While accurately stating the $1.8 trillion in Biden-era regulatory costs (72% from EPA), it presents these as direct family expenses, which is misleading. The memo correctly identifies costly Biden regulations like EPA vehicle emissions standards but omits their benefits. Claims about Trump’s regulatory freeze and “1-in-10-out” budget are partially accurate, but the supposed $2,100 per-family savings lacks evidence. Regulatory costs are distributed across the economy in complex ways that can’t be simply divided by family count.

The memo contains several misleading claims and inaccuracies about regulatory costs under the Biden administration and Trump’s actions.

The claim that President Trump saved Americans $2,100 per family by halting Biden regulations is unsupported by evidence. While the Biden administration did implement significant regulations, the specific savings figure appears to be arbitrary.

The memo accurately states that the Biden administration implemented approximately $1.8 trillion in regulatory costs over four years, which far exceeded previous administrations. The EPA was indeed responsible for about $1.3 trillion of these costs, matching the 72% figure claimed in the memo.

However, the memo misleadingly presents these costs as direct expenses to families. Regulatory costs are typically distributed across the economy and affect businesses, consumers, and government in complex ways that can’t be simply divided by the number of families.

The memo correctly identifies some of the most expensive Biden-era regulations:

  • The EPA’s Multi-Pollutant Emissions Standards for vehicles was estimated at $870 billion
  • Vehicle emissions standards for model years 2023 and beyond did have significant costs
  • The Treasury Department’s beneficial ownership disclosure requirements were costly

However, the memo fails to mention that many regulations also have quantified benefits that exceed their costs. The selective presentation of only costs without benefits creates a misleading impression.

The memo’s claims about Trump’s regulatory actions are partially accurate but lack context:

  • Trump did implement a regulatory freeze upon taking office in 2025
  • Trump did announce a “1-in-10-out” regulatory budget

However, during Trump’s first term, his administration did achieve significant deregulation, reducing regulatory costs by approximately $11,000 per household according to some estimates, though this is presented without the context of potential lost benefits from those regulations.

The claim about the Federal Register page count for 2024 cannot be verified from the search results provided. This is a common but misleading metric, as page counts don’t necessarily correlate with regulatory burden.

While the Biden administration did implement costly regulations, particularly through the EPA, the memo exaggerates and oversimplifies their impact while failing to acknowledge potential benefits. It also makes unsubstantiated claims about savings from Trump’s actions. The presentation of regulatory costs as direct per-family expenses is particularly misleading, as these costs are distributed throughout the economy in complex ways.

TO: WHITE HOUSE COMMS STAFF FROM: CEA STAFF SUBJECT: PRESIDENT TRUMP SAVES AMERICAN FAMILIES $2,100 EACH BY HALTING COSTLY BIDEN REGULATIONS

Summary

President Biden piled on nearly $2 trillion in new regulations over his four years in office, dramatically increasing costs for everyday working people and businesses — and left billions of dollars more in proposed rules still in the pipeline. Upon taking office, President Trump immediately blocked these proposed rules and has initiated an aggressive deregulatory agenda that requires substantial cuts in existing regulations for each new agency rule. President Trump is committed to cutting senseless red tape that will lower costs, lead to higher growth, and usher America into its Golden Age.

  • Since returning to office, President Trump has saved Americans over $180 billion, or $2,100 per family of four, by halting proposed Biden-era regulations.
  • The Biden Administration added more than $1.8 trillion, or $21,090 per family of four, in new regulatory costs, far surpassing any other administration on record.
  • 72% of these new regulatory burdens ($1.3 trillion or $15,457 per family of four) were the result of new EPA rules.
  • Rolling back just automobile-related rules will save consumers over $1.134 trillion.
  • In 2024, the Biden Administration set an all-time record by publishing 107,262 pages of final rules, proposed rules, and other public notices in the Federal Register.
  • This stands in stark contrast to President Trump, who recently announced a bold deregulation initiative that requires the elimination of ten existing rules or guidance documents for every new regulation.

Details

  • Notable regulatory actions by President Trump via executive order include:
  • Among finalized Biden EPA rules, the following edicts were the most expensive:
    • $870 billion: Mandated reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and a 50% reduction in other pollutant emissions from light-duty and medium-duty vehicles for model years 2027 and beyond.
    • $180 billion: Mandated reductions in greenhouse gas emissions in passenger cars and light trucks for model years 2023 and beyond.
    • $106.19 billion: Unnecessary water regulations.
    • $39 billion: Mandated the reduction of nitrogen oxides (NOx) and particulate matter emissions in heavy-duty engines.
  • Other notable costly Biden Administration regulations include:
    • Department of the Treasury
      • $84.1 billion: New mandates that certain entities disclose their beneficial owners to the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN).
    • Department of Transportation
      • $45.2 billion: New mandates for increased fuel efficiency in passenger cars and light trucks for model years 2027 and beyond, and increased fuel efficiency for vans and heavy-duty pickups for model years 2030 and beyond.
    • Department of Health and Human Services
      • $43.15 billion: New mandates for Medicare and Medicaid Programs, increased nursing staffing levels in nursing homes, and additional reporting requirements for certain institutional services.
      • $27.77 billion: New Medicaid and CHIP Program mandates
    • Department of Defense
      • $42.26 billion: New mandates to protect Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) and Federal Contract Information (FCI).
  • In addition to the expensive regulations highlighted above, the Biden Administration also excelled at producing ridiculous regulations:
    • A U.S. Postal Service regulation “requiring mailers to solely use the Cremated Remains shipping supplies provided by the Postal Service when mailing human or animal cremated remains, also referred to as cremains or ashes, domestically or internationally.”
    • A Federal Trade Commission regulation “requiring manufacturers of home audio amplifiers making power-related claims to calculate power output using uniform testing methods to allow consumers to easily compare amplifier sound quality.