MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 19th January, 2021) Incumbent US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order aimed at limiting the power of agency officials in making regulatory decisions.
"The President chooses Federal agency heads who exercise executive authority and implement his regulatory agenda. The American people, in electing the President, thereby have a role in choosing the individuals who govern them," Trump said in his Monday EO, adding that "some agencies have chosen to blur these lines of democratic accountability by allowing career officials to authorize, approve, and serve as the final word on regulations."
According to the executive order, a lack of accountability is against the principle of the consent of the governed.
"This practice transfers the power to set rules governing Americans' daily lives from the President, acting through his executive subordinates, to officials insulated from the accountability that national elections bring. This practice undermines the power of the American people to choose who governs them and I am directing steps to end it," Trump said.
Trump's executive order requires that the head of each federal agency must require that agency rules are signed by a senior appointee and only senior appointees may initiate the rulemaking process and approve a given agency's regulatory agenda.
Trump issued another executive order on Monday aiming to alleviate regulatory burdens on Americans by ensuring that they are fully aware of potential criminal liability for violations of regulations.
"In the interest of fairness, Federal criminal law should be clearly written so that all Americans can understand what is prohibited and act accordingly. Some statutes have authorized executive branch agencies to promulgate thousands of regulations, creating a thicket of requirements that can be difficult to navigate, and many of these regulations are enforceable through criminal processes and penalties," Trump said.
According to the president's executive order, federal agencies must now be very explicit in their regulations, stating clearly what conduct is subject to criminal penalties.
