Week in Review

IN THE NEWS

• President Donald J. Trump signed an executive order expanding presidential oversight of independent regulatory agencies, including the Federal Trade Commission, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and the Federal Communications Commission. The order requires agency leaders to align policies with White House priorities, submit strategic plans and regulatory actions for approval by the President, and comply with the President’s interpretations of the law. According to the order, these policies are necessary “to ensure Presidential supervision and control of the entire executive branch.”
• President Trump signed an executive order implementing a Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) deregulatory initiative. The initiative involves agency heads coordinating with DOGE team leads and the director of the Office of Management and Budget to review all regulations under their jurisdiction. Agencies are instructed to deprioritize actions that would enforce regulations that “go beyond the powers” vested in the federal government. The order also instructs agencies to consult with DOGE team leads on potential new regulations. Actions related to military, national security, homeland security, foreign affairs, or immigration are exempt from the order.
• The U.S. Department of Education issued a “Dear Colleague” letter clarifying the “nondiscrimination obligations” of schools and universities that receive federal financial assistance. Citing existing federal law and Supreme Court precedent, the Education Department stated that it “will no longer tolerate” the use of race as a factor in admissions, financial aid, hiring, and training at educational institutions of all levels. The letter specifically notes that “diversity, equity, and inclusion” programs violate the law. The Education Department intends to “assess compliance” with this guidance “no later than 14 days” from the letter’s date. Schools and universities that do not conform risk losing federal funding.
• A federal judge ruled that the Trump Administration can continue implementing large-scale layoffs of federal government employees while litigation ensues. U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper stated that his court lacks the power to hear a case brought by labor unions against the President. He emphasized that the case must be brought before the Federal Labor Relations Authority that handles these kinds of disputes. This ruling came shortly after another judge allowed similar employment actions by the Trump Administration to continue because the plaintiffs in that case did not show how they would be harmed by the actions.
• President Trump signed an executive order aiming to expand access to, and lower costs of, in vitro fertilization (IVF). The order emphasizes the importance of couples being able to access IVF—affordably and easily—and states that the Administration will ensure reliable access to “drastically more affordable” IVF. The order requires that the assistant to the President for domestic policy submit a list of policy recommendations to President Trump within 90 days.

WHAT WE’RE READING THIS WEEK

• In an article in the Stanford Law Review, Kim Forde-Mazrui, the Mortimer M. Caplin Professor of Law at the University of Virginia, explored race-neutral alternatives to affirmative actions policies. Forde-Mazrui contended that courts should uphold “alternative action” policies that aim to remedy “discrimination against anyone—regardless of the victim’s race,” even if the policy disproportionately benefits one racial group. He argued that historical precedent and originalist interpretations of constitutional law support race-neutral measures that seek to remedy discrimination. In addition, Forde-Mazrui suggested that schools can create diverse student bodies using race-neutral means, thus avoiding heightened legal scrutiny. He advocated a legal framework that balances equal protection concerns with the goal of fostering racial equity in education and employment.
• In an article for the American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, Jamie Hansen-Lewis, an assistant professor of agricultural and resource economics at University of California, Davis, and Michelle Marcus, an associate professor of economics at Vanderbilt University, discussed the impact of maritime emission regulations on air quality and human health. Hansen-Lewis and Marcus found that the United States’ environmental policy in the maritime shipping industry has led to fewer low birth weight infants and infant deaths per year in coastal towns, which are vulnerable to particulate matter emissions from the maritime shipping industry. Hansen-Lewis and Marcus characterized the regulations as a substantial policy success, even if the regulations resulted in only 55 percent of the estimated emission reduction.

EDITOR’S CHOICE

• In an essay in The Regulatory Review, Domenic Powell, an administrative law fellow of the American Bar Association’s Section of Administrative Law & Regulatory Practice, examined how recent Supreme Court decisions have weakened federal agencies and expanded judicial power over regulatory policy. Powell argued that progressives should focus on “court-proofing” the administrative state by adopting strategies such as self-effectuating statutes, refining judicial review standards, and limiting forum-shopping by litigants. He contended that these reforms would help insulate agency decisions from legal challenges and preserve regulatory authority. In addition, he emphasized that both Congress and federal agencies must act swiftly to counteract what he described as a “juristocratic” shift in governance.