The Trump administration published a record number of regulations considered economically significant during its final year, spurred on by the coronavirus and a last-minute policy push.
Why it matters: It’s hard to know the long-term impact, but any single rule “could entail hundreds of millions, if not billions, of dollars in annual costs and benefits,” George Washington University expert Daniel Perez told Axios.
- Some will be harder than others for President Biden to retract.
By the numbers: Roughly 20% of the economically significant rules had to do with the Paycheck Protection Program, which provided coronavirus relief to small businesses.
- Agencies also slashed environmental regulations and implemented new immigration policies through the rule process last year.
- There was higher regulatory output during the Trump administration’s midnight period — roughly between Election and Inauguration days — than any other administration, Perez said.
Between the lines: For a regulation to be considered “economically significant,” according to an executive order, it has to have at least a $100 million annual effect on the economy or some kind of material, adverse effect on the economy, productivity, competition, the environment, public health or state or local governments.
