Biden Plans to Issue Memo Halting Trump’s Midnight Regulations on First Day in Office

President-elect Joe Biden plans to sign a memo on his first day in office halting or delaying any midnight regulations and actions taken by the Trump administration that have not taken effect by Election Day, CNN reports.

Biden spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters that it is standard practice to issue a regulatory freeze when a new president takes office "but this freeze will apply not only to regulations but also guidance documents -- documents that can have enormous consequences on the lives of the American people."

Midnight regulations are those created following the election during the lame-duck months.

Psaki said the memo would take effect at noon on January 20 after Biden is inaugurated.

The memo is part of a larger effort to reverse Trump’s executive actions.

Trump admin planning last-minute spree:

The Trump administration is planning to finalize a large number of last-minute regulations ahead of Biden’s presidency after it already finalized more federal rules in its last year than any previous administration.

Every outgoing president since Jimmy Carter has signed last-minute regulations but Trump’s aides are planning an array of midnight changes.

The administration is expected to loosen water efficiency standards for showerheads and energy conservation regulations for washers, as well as implement two rules to make it harder for the EPA to use science rather than cost-benefit analysis to make policy.

The Department of Homeland Security is also expected to publish rules to make it more difficult to obtain student visas and work permits.

The Department of Health and Human Services is expected to create a rule that would automatically expire any regulation after 10 years if it is not reviewed by the agency and another aiming to undermine the federal Obamacare health exchange.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development is planning to allow federally funded homeless shelters to discriminate against transgender people and the Department of Agriculture is planning new rules that would strip food stamps and free school meals from millions of recipients and nearly 500,000 children.

Biden takes aim:

Psaki cited one specific rule from the Department of Labor "that would make it easier for companies to call their workers independent contractors to avoid minimum wage and overtime protections." She criticized the rule, saying it would make it easier to "misclassify employees as independent contractors.”

Biden has also pledged to sign numerous executive actions on his first day in office, including rejoining the Paris Climate accord and the World Health Organization.

 

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