Ensuring Lawful Governance and Implementing the President's "Department of Government Efficiency" Deregulatory Initiative

Date Issued: Feb. 19, 2025

Executive Summary

This executive order focuses on combating federal overreach. Agency heads, along with their U.S. Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) team leads and the director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), will initiate a process to review all regulations. Within 60 days of this order, agency heads, with consultation from the U.S. attorney general, will identify and classify different regulations. Within 60 days of this order, agency heads will provide the administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) within the OMB a list of all regulations identified by class. The administrator of OIRA will consult with agency heads to create a Unified Regulatory Agenda to rescind or modify these regulations. Agency heads, with consultation from the OMB director, shall direct the termination of all such enforcement proceedings that do not comply with the U.S. Constitution, laws or administration policy.

Policy Actions

• Within 60 days (April 20, 2025), agency heads, with their DOGE team lead and the director of the OMB will review all their regulations for consistency with law and administration policy.
• Within 60 days (April 20, 2025), agency heads, with the attorney general, will identify the following classes of regulations:
• unconstitutional regulations that raise serious constitutional difficulties
• regulations based on unlawful delegations of legislative power
• regulations not based on the underlying statutory authority or prohibition
• regulations that impose significant costs upon private parties that do not outweigh public benefits
• regulations that harm national interests
• regulations that burden small businesses and impede private enterprise and entrepreneurship
• Within 60 days (April 20, 2025), the agency heads will provide the OIRA administrator with a list of all regulations, and the OIRA administrator will consult with the agency heads to develop a Unified Regulatory Agenda to reform or rescind these regulations.
• Agency heads will consult with their DOGE team leads and the OIRA administrator on potential new regulations.
• The following will be exempt from the actions of this order:
• actions related to the military, national security, homeland security, foreign affairs or immigration-related functions of the U.S.
• executive branch's management of its employees
• anything else exempted by the OMB director

Trump's 2025 Executive Orders: Updates and Summaries

Holland & Knight's Public Policy & Regulation Group is reviewing President Trump's 2025 Executive Orders and other actions. To read all Executive Order Updates and Summaries, visit our landing page.