In one of his first executive actions, President Joseph R. Biden directed the heads of the executive departments and agencies to institute a "regulatory freeze" on new and pending rules.

In a Memorandum, Chief of Staff Ronald A. Klain asked heads of agencies to:

  • not propose or issue any rule - including by sending a rule to the Office of the Federal Register ("OFR") - until a Biden-appointed agency head has reviewed and approved the rule;
  • withdraw all rules that had been sent to the OFR, but not yet published in the Federal Register, to be reviewed and approved;
  • consider postponing by 60 days the effective date of rules that have been published in the Federal Register, but have not taken effect (if such action is taken, then agency heads should consider opening a 30-day comment period); and
  • notify the Office of Management and Budget Director of any potential rule exclusions if the rule affects "critical health, safety, environmental, financial, or national security matters, or for some other reason."

Primary Sources

  1. White House Presidential Memorandum: Regulatory Freeze Pending Review

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