What Can President Trump “Undo”?, & More from CRS
The steps that the incoming Trump Administration could take to revise or reverse policies of the Obama Administration are considered in several new publications from the Congressional Research Service.
“While the Constitution does not permit the President to single-handedly repeal or amend statutes, there is much that a new President can do to rapidly reverse the policies of a previous administration,” CRS explained.
The ease of altering existing policies depends on how those policies were promulgated in the first place: by executive order, through agency policy statements, or through agency rules.
“The President can immediately revoke, modify, or supersede executive orders issued by a predecessor.”
“A new President can also immediately direct the heads of executive branch agencies to withdraw discretionary directives and guidance documents that were issued by an executive agency during a previous administration.”
“Agency rules and regulations may also be repealed by a new administration; however, the repeal process can be time consuming and must comply with certain mandated procedures.”
See With the Stroke of a Pen: What Executive Branch Actions Can President-elect Trump “Undo” on Day One?, CRS Legal Sidebar, November 22, 2016.
See also: Can a New Administration Undo a Previous Administration’s Regulations?, CRS Insight, November 21, 2016
The Obama Administration’s 2014 Immigration Initiative: Looking Back at What the Obama Administration Has Done– and Ahead to the Trump Administration, CRS Legal Sidebar, November 22, 2016
“Major” Obama Administration Rules Potentially Eligible to be Overturned under the Congressional Review Act in the 115th Congress, CRS Memorandum, November 17, 2016
Other new or updated reports from the Congressional Research Service include the following.
The Budget Reconciliation Process: The Senate’s “Byrd Rule”, updated November 22, 2016
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA): Proposed Legislation in the 114th Congress, November 21, 2016
Five-Year Program for Federal Offshore Oil and Gas Leasing: Status and Issues in Brief, November 21, 2016
Unique Identification Codes for Federal Contractors: DUNS Numbers and CAGE Codes, November 21, 2016
The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Block Grant: A Primer on TANF Financing and Federal Requirements, updated November 21, 2016
Internet Governance and the Domain Name System: Issues for Congress, updated November 18, 2016
Venezuela: Background and U.S. Relations, updated November 21, 2016
Barriers Along the U.S. Borders: Key Authorities and Requirements, updated November 18, 2016
The reimagined E2T2 represents a critical opportunity to address many pressing challenges in K-12 education while preparing students for the future.
A new Digital Military Talent Initiative could help address the military’s digital-talent gap by providing an expedited path to U.S. citizenship through military service for noncitizen technologists aligned to NSCAI archetypes.
The United Kingdom is modernizing its stockpile of nuclear weapons and delivery systems, as detailed today in the Federation of American Scientists latest edition of its Nuclear Notebook, “United Kingdom Nuclear Forces, 2024”.
The United States should continue to pursue its commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50–52% from 2005 levels by 2030 and achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.