At Midnight Some Rules Will Turn Into Pumpkins

As the clock nears midnight for the Biden administration, his policy officials are hastening to implement their priorities by rushing spending and regulations out the door. The incoming Trump administration, on the other hand, has promised to slash the federal budget and reverse regulations. If the president-elect and his new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) are serious about their plan to nullify thousands of regulations, they will want to avail themselves of the Congressional Review Act (CRA).

The CRA provides for expedited legislative procedures by which Congress can overturn recent federal regulations. After an agency issues a final rule and reports it to Congress, both houses have 60 days to introduce a resolution disapproving the rule. If the president signs the resolution, agencies are barred from issuing anything “substantially the same.”

During the 60-day window, any member of the House or Senate can introduce a resolution disapproving a final agency rule. A resolution can only target one rule and must overturn that rule in its entirety. Once introduced, resolutions are referred to the committees of jurisdiction in the respective house of Congress. A simple majority in both houses is required for the measure to pass and a joint resolution to be sent to the president. There is no opportunity to use a filibuster to block a CRA resolution.