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Uses of the Congressional Review Act during the Trump administrations

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See also: Congressional Review Act

This page documents usage of the Congressional Review Act (CRA) during the Donald Trump (R) administrations. During his first presidency, 16 administrative rules were repealed using the CRA. This page covers CRA resolutions that passed through at least one house of Congress. It does not include CRA resolutions introduced by representatives that did not move beyond that stage in the legislative process.

President Donald Trump's (R) first presidential term began on January 20, 2017, and ended on January 20, 2021. His second term began on January 20, 2025.

The CRA is a federal law that affords Congress a check on the rulemaking activities of federal agencies. The law creates a review period during which Congress, by passing a joint resolution of disapproval later signed by the president, can overturn a new federal agency rule and block the issuing agency from creating a similar rule in the future.[1][2][3] At the end of the first Trump administration in January 2021, the CRA had been used to repeal 17 rules, 16 under the Trump administration.[4][5] On June 30, 2021, Joe Biden (D) signed three CRA resolutions into law, bringing the total number of rules repealed to 20.[6]

Trump has signed 16 resolutions of disapproval into law during his second administration as of June 20, 2025.

Background

The Congressional Review Act was passed in 1996 and signed into law by President Bill Clinton (D).[7][8][9] With the CRA, Congress intended to establish a review system to address the complaint that "Congress [had] effectively abdicated its constitutional role as the national legislature in allowing federal agencies so much latitude in implementing and interpreting congressional enactments," according to the official legislative history of the law.[8]

Historical usage of the CRA

Before 2017, the only successful use of the CRA was in 2001 when the recently sworn-in Congress and President George W. Bush (R) reversed an ergonomic standards rule issued by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration during the final months of the previous administration.

During his presidency, Barack Obama (D) vetoed five CRA resolutions addressing environmental, labor, and financial policy.[3][4]

In the first four months of his first term, President Donald Trump (R) signed 14 CRA resolutions from Congress undoing a variety of rules issued near the end of Barack Obama's (D) presidency.[1][2][3][10] In total, Congress repealed 16 rules using the CRA during Trump's first term.[11][12] Trump vetoed one resolution of disapproval near the end of his first term in 2020.[13]

On June 30, 2021, Joe Biden (D) signed three CRA resolutions of disapproval, bringing the total number of rules repealed through the CRA to 20.[14][15][16] Biden also vetoed 11 resolutions of disapproval during 2023 and 2024.

In his second term, Donald Trump (R) has signed 16 joint resolutions of disapproval as of June 20, 2025.


Usage of the CRA during the Trump administrations

See also: Federal agency rules repealed under the Congressional Review Act and Uses of the Congressional Review Act during the Biden administration

Trump administration, second term (2025-2029)

The following table contains the CRA resolutions passed into law during Donald Trump (R)'s second term.

Federal agency rules repealed under the Congressional Review Act (2025-2029)
Action date Title of disapproved rule Issuing agency or department Presidential action
March 14, 2025 Protection of Marine Archaeological Resources[17] Bureau of Ocean Energy Management Signed into law
March 14, 2025 Waste Emissions Charge for Petroleum and Natural Gas Systems: Procedures for Facilitating Compliance, Including Netting and Exemptions[18] Environmental Protection Agency Signed into law
April 10, 2025 Gross Proceeds Reporting by Brokers That Regularly Provide Services Effectuating Digital Asset Sales[17] Internal Revenue Service Signed into law
May 9, 2025 Energy Conservation Program for Appliance Standards: Certification Requirements, Labeling Requirements, and Enforcement Provisions for Certain Consumer Products and Commercial Equipment[19] U.S. Department of Energy Signed into law
May 9, 2025 Energy Conservation Program: Energy Conservation Standards for Consumer Gas-fired Instantaneous Water Heaters[20] U.S. Department of Energy Signed into law
May 9, 2025 Energy Conservation Program: Energy Conservation Standards for Walk-In Coolers and Walk-In Freezers[21] U.S. Department of Energy Signed into law
May 9, 2025 Energy Conservation Program: Energy Conservation Standards for Commercial Refrigerators, Freezers, and Refrigerator-Freezers[22] U.S. Department of Energy Signed into law
May 9, 2025 Defining Larger Participants of a Market for General-Use Digital Consumer Payment Applications[23] Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Signed into law
May 9, 2025 Overdraft Lending: Very Large Financial Institutions[24] Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Signed into law
May 23, 2025 National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants: Rubber Tire Manufacturing rule[25] Environmental Protection Agency Signed into law
May 23, 2025 Glen Canyon National Recreation Area; Motor Vehicles[26] National Park Service Signed into law
June 12, 2025 California State Motor Vehicle and Engine Pollution Control Standards; Advanced Clean Cars II; Waiver of Preemption; Notice of Decision rule (2025) Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Signed into law
June 12, 2025 California State Motor Vehicle and Engine Pollution Control Standards rule (2023) Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Signed into law
June 12, 2025 California State Motor Vehicle and Engine and Nonroad Engine Pollution Control Standards rule (2025) Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Signed into law
June 20, 2025 Business Combinations Under the Bank Merger Act rule (2024) U.S. Department of the Treasury Signed into law
June 20, 2025 Final Rule Reclassification of Major Sources as Area Sources Under Section 112 of the Clean Air Act rule (2024) Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Signed into law


Trump administration, first term (2017-2021)

In the first four months of his presidency, President Donald Trump (R) signed 14 CRA resolutions from Congress undoing a variety of rules issued near the end of Barack Obama's (D) presidency.[1][2][3][10] Congress repealed 16 rules in total using the CRA during the first term of the Trump administration.[11]

The following chart, published by the Regulatory Studies Center at The George Washington University, shows each CRA resolution that passed through at least one chamber during the 116th Congress and what happened to them.[27]

New applications of the CRA to guidance documents during the Trump administrations

Beyond repealing rules made by agencies following the rulemaking process, the Trump administration took steps to apply the CRA to a broader range of agency decisions, including guidance documents.

Trump administration, first term (2017-2021)

May 21, 2018: CFPB guidance repealed

See also: Congress votes to repeal an agency guidance document for the first time

On May 21, 2018, President Trump signed a CRA resolution invalidating a guidance document issued by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).[11] It was the first time that the CRA was used to overturn a guidance document rather than a rule issued through the rulemaking procedures of the Administrative Procedure Act. The repeal resolution was introduced to Congress in March 2018 by Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.). The U.S. Senate passed the resolution on April 18, 2018. The vote was 51-47, with all present Republicans and West Virginia Democrat Joe Manchin voting in favor. Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) were absent.[28] The U.S. House of Representatives passed a corresponding resolution on May 8 by a vote of 234-175. The measure was mainly supported by Republicans, with 11 Democrats also voting for the resolution.[29]

Guidance documents, agency documents created to explain, interpret, or advise interested parties about rules, laws, and procedures, are not typically subject to the CRA. However, on December 5, 2017, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) issued a determination that the CFPB's indirect auto lending bulletin was a rule for the purposes of the CRA. The GAO made this determination in response to a study request from Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.).[30]

April 11, 2019: Memo outlined White House review of independent agencies and guidance documents

An April 11 guidance memo published by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) established rules for compliance with the CRA.[31] It amended earlier OMB guidance for implementing the CRA published in 1999 to affirm that Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) review procedures apply to historically independent agencies. It also stated that some guidance documents fall within the definition of rules subject to the CRA.[31]

The guidance memo told agencies not to publish any rules in the Federal Register or anywhere else until both OIRA determined whether the rule is major and the agency has complied with the CRA.[31]

The memo affirmed the broad scope of the CRA over rules coming out of the administrative state. Under Clinton-era Executive Order 12866, agencies have to submit any significant regulatory actions to OIRA for review.[31] However, agencies do not submit all CRA-covered actions to OIRA.[32] In addition to notice-and-comment rules, the new OMB memo said that agencies have to submit statements of policy and interpretive rules to OIRA and Congress.[31] That instruction included guidance documents, which agencies often fail to submit for CRA review.[32] The memo required agencies to include a CRA compliance statement in the body of new rules, which gives Congress notice that OIRA determined whether the rule was major.[31]

Guidance documents, memoranda, and other statements by agencies issued outside the requirements of the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) can have practical effects on the public even if they are not always legally binding. Some critics of the administrative state have called those kinds of agency actions regulatory dark matter. The OMB memo included regulatory dark matter within the CRA review process and could result in "more accurate accounting of the economic effects of rules and guidance, with the opportunity for more informed action by Congress and the public," according to professor Bridget C. E. Dooling.[31][32] Others saw the memo as more than a clarification of the existing requirements of the CRA. The memo was "a controversial step that has long been a goal of conservative groups," according to Damien Paletta, writing for the Washington Post.[33] Paletta also wrote that "[t]he step could have the effect of nullifying or blocking a range of new regulatory initiatives."[33]

See also

External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 U.S. News, "Democrats Push to Repeal Congressional Review Act," June 1, 2017
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 The Hill, "The Congressional Review Act and a deregulatory agenda for Trump's second year," March 31, 2017
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Smithsonian Magazine, "What Is the Congressional Review Act?" February 10, 2017
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Quartz, "The obscure law Donald Trump will use to unwind Obama's regulations," December 1, 2016
  5. ↑ George Washington University Regulatory Studies Center, "Congressional Review Act ," accessed December 18, 2020
  6. ↑ The White House, "Remarks by President Biden Signing Three Congressional Review Act Bills into Law: S.J.Res.13; S.J.Res.14; and S.J.Res.15," June 30, 2021
  7. ↑ Congress, "H.R.3136 - Contract with America Advancement Act of 1996," accessed April 23, 2019
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Congressional Record, "S3683, Congressional Review Title of H.R. 3136," April 18, 1996
  9. ↑ Congressional Research Service, "In Focus: The Congressional Review Act (CRA)," accessed April 22, 2019
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 New York Times, "Which Obama-Era Rules Are Being Reversed in the Trump Era," May 18, 2017
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 Congress.gov, "S.J.Res.57," accessed May 22, 2018
  12. ↑ Congressional Record, "Vol. 167, No. 20: Proceedings and Debates of the 117th Congress, First Session," February 3, 2021
  13. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named trumpveto
  14. ↑ Congress.gov, "S.J.Res.13 - A joint resolution providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission relating to "Update of Commission's Conciliation Procedures"," accessed July 30, 2021
  15. ↑ Congress.gov, "S.J.Res.14 - A joint resolution providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the Environmental Protection Agency relating to "Oil and Natural Gas Sector: Emission Standards for New, Reconstructed, and Modified Sources Review"," accessed July 30, 2021
  16. ↑ Congress.gov, "S.J.Res.15 - A joint resolution providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the Office of the Comptroller of Currency relating to "National Banks and Federal Savings Associations as Lenders"," accessed July 30, 2021
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 The Federal Register, "Protection of Marine Archaeological Resources," accessed March 14, 2025 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "rule" defined multiple times with different content
  18. ↑ Federal Register, "Waste Emissions Charge for Petroleum and Natural Gas Systems: Procedures for Facilitating Compliance, Including Netting and Exemptions," accessed March 18, 2025
  19. ↑ The Hill, "Trump overturns Biden-era efficiency rules for household and commercial appliances," accessed May 13, 2025
  20. ↑ The Hill, "Trump overturns Biden-era efficiency rules for household and commercial appliances," accessed May 13, 2025
  21. ↑ The Hill, "Trump overturns Biden-era efficiency rules for household and commercial appliances," accessed May 13, 2025
  22. ↑ The Hill, "Trump overturns Biden-era efficiency rules for household and commercial appliances," accessed May 13, 2025
  23. ↑ House Committee on Financial Services, "Chairman Hill Statement on President Trump Signing CRAs to Roll Back Biden-era Rules," accessed May 13, 2025
  24. ↑ House Committee on Financial Services, "Chairman Hill Statement on President Trump Signing CRAs to Roll Back Biden-era Rules," accessed May 13, 2025
  25. ↑ Federal Register, "National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants: Rubber Tire Manufacturing," accessed March 20, 2025
  26. ↑ Federal Register, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area; Motor Vehicles, accessed May 23, 2025
  27. ↑ Regulatory Studies Center, "Previous CRA Activity Tracker," accessed January 12, 2021
  28. ↑ The Hill, "Senate repeals auto-loan guidance in precedent-shattering vote," April 18, 2018
  29. ↑ The New York Times, "House Votes to Dismantle Bias Rule in Auto Lending," May 8, 2018
  30. ↑ Government Accountability Office, "Applicability of the Congressional Review Act to Bulletin on Indirect Auto Lending and Compliance with the Equal Credit Opportunity Act," December 5, 2017
  31. ↑ 31.0 31.1 31.2 31.3 31.4 31.5 31.6 Office of Management and Budget, "Memorandum for the Heads of Executive Departments and Agencies," April 11, 2019
  32. ↑ 32.0 32.1 32.2 The Hill, "How independent are government agencies? OMB's move on 'major' rules may tell us," Bridget C.E. Dooling, April 13, 2019
  33. ↑ 33.0 33.1 Washington Post, "White House seeks tighter oversight of regulations issued by Fed and other independent agencies," Damian Paletta, April 11, 2019
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