Regardless of political party, presidential administrations have traditionally abided by the bedrock American principles of transparency and accountability when it comes to federal agency rulemaking.

The Trump administration is defying these principles. President Trump is rolling back longstanding protections using unlawful shortcuts that shortchange the public’s right to provide input and understand how that feedback has shaped federal agency decisions.

Enacted soon after the end of World War II, the Administrative Procedure Act outlines steps that federal agencies must take when they issue or amend regulations, also known as rules. Critically, this process includes soliciting and then responding to significant comments from the public, especially when those rules affect people’s rights and responsibilities under federal law.

The Trump administration has jettisoned this established approach to rescind bedrock legal protections for everyday Americans in the dark of night, with almost no explanation.

President Trump signaled his plan to skirt established processes for rulemaking in a presidential memorandum issued on April 9, “Directing the Repeal of Unlawful Regulations.”

The memorandum accurately recognizes that a federal agency may use an expedited approach under the Administrative Procedure Act if it has “good cause” to find that the usual process would be “impracticable, unnecessary or contrary to the public interest.”

Indeed, the Administrative Conference of the United States has recognized that expedited processes, such as direct final........

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