Under the Biden administration, a growing number of agency actions appear to have been influenced by political considerations alongside their legal basis.  Although the rule of law permits executive agencies to interpret and enforce their enabling legislation, public trust depends on ensuring that enforcement is even-handed, transparent, and grounded in legal norms rather than ideological preferences.

This blurring of legal and political motives can compromise the legitimacy of enforcement efforts and erode confidence in legitimate regulatory actions.  It can also create obstacles that disproportionately burden small businesses, which typically lack the resources to counter them.  The Trump administration started on day one of its return to Washington to lay a strong foundation to ensure that federal agencies no longer operate as tools of political messaging.  Now it is time to build upon that foundation and follow through with decisive action. 

Several high-profile examples offer cautionary lessons and opportunities for reform.

In March of 2024, for example, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted a climate disclosure rule that pushed far beyond the agency’s traditional securities mandate.  Framed as an investor protection measure, the rule marked a notable expansion of the SEC’s mandate into climate policy — an area traditionally governed by environmental regulators and Congress.  Even SEC commissioner Mark Uyeda, a Biden appointee, warned that the rule was “deeply flawed and could inflict significant harm on the capital markets and our economy.”  By embedding climate policy into securities law, the SEC risked transforming financial disclosure into a vehicle for ideological advocacy and blurred........

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