President Trump Orders Independent Agencies to Submit Regulations to White House for Review

President Trump is attempting to expand his power and control over so-called independent agencies in the executive branch.

There are currently about 80 of those including the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), Federal Election Commission (FEC), and Consumer Product Safety Commission (CSPC). 

Such agencies have traditionally been exempted from regulatory review by the White House, even though administration’s have had the power to review proposed regulations. 

In an executive order, the President noted that “it shall be the policy of the executive branch to ensure Presidential supervision and control of the entire executive branch.”

The order goes on to say that “For the Federal Government to be truly accountable to the American people, officials who wield vast executive power must be supervised and controlled by the people’s elected President.” 

White House Review 

The order demands that all executive departments and agencies, including the “so-called’ independent agencies, submit regulatory actions to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) within the Executive Office of the President before publication in the Federal Register. 

The agencies are also ordered to "regularly consult with and coordinate policies and priorities” with the White House. 

The order also empowers the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to establish performance standards and management objectives for independent agency heads, and report periodically to the President on their performance. 

The Federal Reserve's Board of Governors and Open Market Committee are exempt.

USPS Under Presidential Control?

This comes as President Trump floated the idea of placing the United States Postal Service (USPS) under his control. 

According to the Washington Post, the President is considering firing members of the USPS governing board and placing the agency under control of the Department of Commerce and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, former CEO of Wall Street investment bank Cantor Fitzgerald.  

“He’s (Lutnick) got a great business instinct, which is what we need, and he’ll be looking at it, and we think we can turn it around,” said President Trump.  

USPS experts tell the Post that the move would likely violate federal law. The USPS governing board retained counsel to fight back should such an order come. 

Court Fight Looms

Like other executive orders signed by the new president, these are likely to end up in the court system. 

However, law professors who have spoken out on the issue, say the president may legally have a solid case. 

"I think the court has been saying for years that Congress can't give for-cause protections to these agencies," said Saikrishna Prakash, a law professor at the University of Virginia and former clerk for Justice Clarence Thomas. "I think the handwriting's on the wall."

Still, it would be a dramatic change in precedent. 

“For at least a century, we’ve all thought that certain types of federal agency actions should be removed from politics to the extent we can,” said Christopher Walker, a University of Michigan Law School professor and an expert in administrative law to CNN.