Trump Administration deregulatory push yields industry wish list for rule rollbacks

Amidst the mile-a-minute pace of activity in the Trump Administration’s first seven months, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB)’s April 11th posting of Federal Register document 2025-06316, “Request for Information: Deregulation” did not exactly make for scintillating tabloid reading. Yet the effort initiated by OMB’s memo is likely to spark substantial regulatory activity by a number of federal agencies starting this fall and into the remainder of Trump’s current term – actions which will be highly impactful across a range of industries in the U.S.

OMB’s request for information (RFI) was prepared in response to an Executive Order signed by President Trump on April 9th to repeal “[u]nlawful, unnecessary and onerous regulations”. The order noted that the U.S. Supreme Court has issued a number of rulings in recent years limiting the power of federal agencies and asks commenters to identify regulations now inconsistent with these decisions.

Companies and their trade associations were only too happy to respond to OMB’s request. The RFI received nearly 8,500 comments during the 30-day window - though some were from individuals calling for caution against moving too quickly to deregulate. OMB and federal agencies will likely begin the process to repeal or amend certain rules cited in the comments starting this fall. Importantly, the executive order notes that agencies may attempt to rescind the rules in question without the traditional notice-and-comment period required for formal rulemaking, which can add months if not years to the process. The order cites a provision in the Administrative Procedures Act (APA) providing a “good cause” exemption to traditional rulemaking requirements if the original rule is “impracticable, unnecessary or contrary to the public interest.” Any attempts to circumvent the rulemaking process would be met immediately by legal challenges. Interestingly, the Mortgage Bankers Association, an influential trade association, argued in a comment letter that agencies should continue to utilize the notice-and-comment process, as abandoning this function could rob industry of a key means of providing input. But even if ultimately overturned, companies would have to make accommodations to assume a proposed repeal could become effective, particularly if intermediate courts support the Administration.

So what exactly does Corporate America hope to deregulate? Anchor reviewed a representative sample of comment letters in response to the OMB RFI submitted by trade associations representing a range of industries. We summarize in the table below recommendations from six of these comments. Taken together, the missives describe their authors’ frustrations with the blizzard of rulemaking under the Biden Administration, and cite hundreds of regulations they believe should be repealed or revised in the name of spurring economic growth and reducing the administrative burden.

Select Industry Association Responses to OMB Deregulation Request for Input (RFI)

Organization	Rule cited	Agency(s)	Year	Commenter's Rationale
Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA)	Adoption of energy efficiency standards for new construction of HUD- and USDA-financed housing	HUD, USDA	2024	Will drive up costs for new single-family and multi-family construction; 30 states still operating under prior standard enacted in 2009; shortage of inspectors trained on new standard.
National Multifamily Housing Council/ National Apartment Association	Floodplain management and protection of wetlands	HUD	2024	Imposes substantial compliance costs on homeowners without robust data on actual risk reduction benefits nationwide.
Information Technology and Innovation Foundation	Rule requiring minimum of two crew members on most US freight and passenger train journeys.	Federal Railroad Administr-ation	2024	Lacks foundation in safety data; is driven by labor-union pressures; automated braking systems and other technological advances intended to mitigate accidents caused by human error.
American Petroleum Institute (API)	National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for Particulate Matter	EPA	2024	In 2024, EPA mandated a lowering of maximum air particulate matter - a measure of air quality - of no more than 9.0 micrograms per cubic meter vs. 12.0 previously. API argues no new scientific evidence had emerged to warrant such a reduction. API argues the new standard will limit economic growth. The group supports revising, not repealing the rule.
Small Business Low Risk Coalition (group of manufacturing/industrial trade associations)	Multi-sector general permit rules for stormwater discharge from industrial facilities	EPA	2021	Argues 2021 version of standard was issued in overly hasty fashion relative to the 2015 version, which received lengthy multiagency review. The group argues that the 2021 permit rules added costly, unnecessary analytical monitoring requirements for many industries.
American Hospital Association (AHA)	Remove telehealth originating and geographic site restrictions within the Medicare program.	CMS	Various	Currently, Medicare patients in urban or suburban areas do not have the same access to telehealth services covered by Medicare as those in rural areas; in other cases patients must be in a clinical setting to receive telehealth services, which defeats their purpose.

Source: Regulations.gov

What does this mean for investors and companies? The OMB request for information and its many industry responses are a sign that deregulation - obscured thus far by the trade war, the immigration crackdown and the many controversies that follow the current Administration - will nonetheless be a key theme for Trump’s second term. The fall Unified Regulatory Agenda, a document published by presidential Administrations twice a year which details each federal agency’s priorities for the coming 12 months, will provide clues as to how the Administration has translated OMB’s fact-finding mission into agency priorities (last month, a version of the Unified Regulatory Agenda was inadvertently posted to OMB’s website before being withdrawn, an indication that the final document is likely to be published soon.)

Given the inclination of Trump, Russell Vought and others in the Administration, OMB is likely to push ahead with many of the deregulatory recommendations put forth in the comment letters. Opponents will attempt to counter these efforts through the courts, alongside their allies in Congress, and by working to sway public opinion. But as with many other aspects of the Trump Administration, critics will face the challenge of fighting many battles at once.

History also shows that deregulation can be a double-edged sword for the private sector. The Global Financial Crisis of 2007-08, which followed a long period of loosening regulation of the U.S. financial services industry, is the most striking recent example. But more recent cases like the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank in spring 2023 demonstrate the dangers of light-touch regulation. In that case, rule changes reducing capital and liquidity requirements for banks of Silicon Valley Bank’s size encouraged the firm to increase its risk profile, making the firm highly vulnerable to a rise in short-term interest rates. Companies must do more on their own to protect their businesses, customers and employees at times when the pendulum swings toward deregulation. Ethics committees, ombudsmen and similar compliance measures can serve companies well at times when spirits are running high - on Wall Street as well as in Washington, D.C. 

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