[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 17 (Tuesday, January 28, 2025)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 8249-8250]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2025-01906]
Presidential Documents
Federal Register / Vol. 90, No. 17 / Tuesday, January 28, 2025 /
Presidential Documents
[[Page 8249]]
Memorandum of January 20, 2025
Regulatory Freeze Pending Review
Memorandum for the Heads of Executive Departments and
Agencies
By the authority vested in me as President by the
Constitution and the laws of the United States of
America, I hereby order all executive departments and
agencies to take the following steps:
(1) Do not propose or issue any rule in any manner,
including by sending a rule to the Office of the
Federal Register (the ``OFR''), until a department or
agency head appointed or designated by the President
after noon on January 20, 2025, reviews and approves
the rule. The department or agency head may delegate
this power of review and approval to any other person
so appointed or designated by the President, consistent
with applicable law. The Director or Acting Director of
the Office of Management and Budget (the ``OMB
Director'') may exempt any rule that he deems necessary
to address emergency situations or other urgent
circumstances, including rules subject to statutory or
judicial deadlines that require prompt action.
(2) Immediately withdraw any rules that have been
sent to the OFR but not published in the Federal
Register, so that they can be reviewed and approved as
described in paragraph 1, subject to the exceptions
described in paragraph 1.
(3) Consistent with applicable law and subject to
the exceptions described in paragraph 1, consider
postponing for 60 days from the date of this memorandum
the effective date for any rules that have been
published in the Federal Register, or any rules that
have been issued in any manner but have not taken
effect, for the purpose of reviewing any questions of
fact, law, and policy that the rules may raise. During
this 60-day period, where appropriate and consistent
with applicable law, consider opening a comment period
to allow interested parties to provide comments about
issues of fact, law, and policy raised by the rules
postponed under this memorandum, and consider
reevaluating pending petitions involving such rules. As
appropriate and consistent with applicable law, and
where necessary to continue to review these questions
of fact, law, and policy, consider further delaying, or
publishing for notice and comment, proposed rules
further delaying such rules beyond the 60-day period.
(4) Following the postponement described in
paragraph 3, no further action needs to be taken for
those rules that raise no substantial questions of
fact, law, or policy. For those rules that raise
substantial questions of fact, law, or policy, agencies
should notify and take further appropriate action in
consultation with the OMB Director.
(5) Comply in all circumstances with any applicable
Executive Orders concerning regulatory management.
As used in this memorandum, ``rule'' has the definition
set forth in section 551(4), title 5, United States
Code. It also includes any ``regulatory action,'' as
defined in section 3(e) of Executive Order 12866 of
September 30, 1993, as amended, and any ``guidance
document'' as defined in section 2(b) of Executive
Order 13891 of October 9, 2019 (Promoting the Rule of
Law Through Improved Agency Guidance Documents), when
that order was in effect. Thus, the requirements of
this memorandum apply not only to ``rules'' as defined
in section 551(4) of title 5, but also to any
substantive action by an agency (normally published in
the Federal Register) that promulgates
[[Page 8250]]
or is expected to lead to the promulgation of a final
rule or regulation, including notices of inquiry,
advance notices of proposed rulemaking, and notices of
proposed rulemaking. They shall also apply to any
agency statement of general applicability and future
effect that sets forth a policy on a statutory,
regulatory, or technical issue or an interpretation of
a statutory or regulatory issue.
The OMB Director shall oversee the implementation of
this memorandum, and any communications regarding any
matters pertaining to this review should be addressed
to the OMB Director. The OMB Director is also
authorized to establish a process to review pending
collections of information under the Paperwork
Reduction Act of 1995, as codified in chapter 35, title
44, United States Code, and to take actions that the
OMB Director deems appropriate based on that review,
consistent with applicable law.
Should actions be identified that were undertaken
before noon on January 20, 2025, that frustrate the
purpose underlying this memorandum, I may modify or
extend this memorandum, to require that department and
agency heads consider taking steps to address those
actions.
The OMB Director is authorized and directed to publish
this memorandum in the Federal Register.
This memorandum shall be implemented consistent with
applicable law.
(Presidential Sig.)
THE WHITE HOUSE,
Washington, January 20, 2025
[FR Doc. 2025-01906
Filed 1-27-25; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3110-01-P