In the ABA Administrative Law Section’s Report to the President-Elect, one finds a rather familiar recommendation: that the agencies undertake “careful, in-depth retrospective review of existing rules.” I call this a “familiar” recommendation, because President-elect Trump’s predecessor called for such a retrospective review in his own Administration. In early 2011, after the mid-term elections, President Obama […]
$8.3 billion and counting. (For background, see here.) The risk corridor program runs from 2014 through this year, and the balance for the 2016 plan year won’t be calculated until next fall. But the federal government has just released figures for 2015, and they’re eye-popping. Insurers are owed $5.9 billion (h/t Charles Gaba) on top […]
One of the distinguishing features of the Obama administration’s approach to national security threats has been the priority given to infectious diseases. Clinton and George W. Bush established their own programs devoted in substantial measure to HIV/AIDS but the Obama administration, from 2009, dedicated far more of its security planning resources to outbreaks of infectious […]
There are no D.C. Circuit opinions this week, but even so, we live in interesting times — especially in the world of administrative law. Right now, President-elect Trump is putting together his slate of cabinet nominees, Congress is paying close attention to the Congressional Review Act, and Chief Judge Garland is preparing to return to […]
Proposals for regulatory reform featured prominently in the run-up to the 2016 election and will likely continue to receive very close attention in the new administration. As Emily Bremer highlighted in her introduction to this symposium, the American Bar Association’s Section of Administrative Law and Regulatory Practice prepared a report for both presidential candidates in […]
A Trump administration is unlikely to be supportive of three of the four recommendations relating to adjudication in the Report to the President-Elect by the ABA Section on Administrative Law and Regulatory Practice. Considering these recommendations (though not in the order they were presented in the ABA’s letter): 1) The Ad Law Section urged the […]
This year’s ABA Administrative Law Conference was already going to be an amazing event — an absolute must-attend conference for adlaw nerds, scholars, and practitioners. But with the election surprise and change in presidential administration (plus a Congress controlled by the same party as the President-Elect), the topics being covered at the conference take on […]
The Administrative Conference has released the agenda for its 66th Annual Plenary Session, which will be held on Tuesday, December 13 (from 1:00 pm to 5:30 pm) and Wednesday, December 14 (from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm). Proposed recommendations on four subjects will be under consideration. From the Federal Register notice on public inspection today: Social […]
I am also pleased to contribute to this symposium on the Section of Administrative Law and Regulatory Practice’s 2016 Report to the President-Elect. My assignment? Regulatory cooperation between the United States and other countries. I strongly support such cooperation — well, at least most of the time. To begin, this is what the Report has […]
With the presidential transition in process and one party about to control both chambers of Congress and the White House, it seems timely to highlight the terrific scholarship by Jon Michaels on administrative separation of powers. I recently reviewed several chapters from his forthcoming book on the subject, and they reminded me of a great article — entitled […]
Commentators have argued that President-Elect Trump’s various business interests, including in the D.C.-based Trump Hotel, may create constitutional problems under the Emoluments Clause. See, e.g., “Trump’s Hotel Lodges a Constitutional Problem,” Bloomberg View (Nov. 21, 2016). As relevant here, the Emoluments Clause prevents a person holding a federal office from accepting any “present” or “emolument” of […]
Among the ABA AdLaw Section’s recommendations in its bi-partisan Report to the President-Elect sent to both candidates before the election was this one concerning OIRA’s administration of Executive Order 12,866: Third, we urge you to ensure appropriate transparency in White House oversight of agency rulemaking through OIRA. From their beginning, the Executive orders creating a […]
Last Friday, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau filed a petition for en banc review in PHH Corp. v. CFPB. The petition challenges Judge Kavanaugh’s opinion for two judges of a panel of the D.C. Circuit, which declared unconstitutional the statute limiting the President’s authority to remove the CFPB’s Director, Richard Cordray. In doing so, the […]
Over the past two weeks, I have been asked more times than I can count how the Trump Administration can unravel the Obama Administration’s policies. My answer usually falls into one of three categories. First, policies that were instituted through guidance documents, such as executive memoranda and “Dear Colleague” letters, which I’ve called Government by Blog […]
I have written about the Congressional Review Act before, so I will not repeat myself. Long story short, Congress will have the opportunity to review regulations promulgated by agencies late in the term of President Obama. This potentially matters a great deal. (Here is a link to Frequently Asked Questions about the CRA.) How the […]