A new initiative from the White House seeks to assert greater presidential control over independent agencies responsible for much of the nation’s regulatory activity, according to a report from Bloomberg and Wealth Management.
The Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission are among at least 20 boards, commissions and agencies that will be affected by the policy, which was outlined in an executive order in February. New guidance from the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs was delivered to agencies last week implementing the order.
It directs all executive departments and agencies to submit proposed and final regulations to the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs before they are published. Independent agencies were required to appoint a regulatory policy officer who is generally a political appointee.
President Trump also directed the head of the White House budget office, Russell Vought, to set performance standards for the heads of independent agencies and to regularly review those agencies’ spending for consistency with White House priorities. The order directs the heads of independent regulatory agencies to establish a position of “White House liaison” inside their agencies.
The move expands presidential oversight over agencies that Trump said “currently exercise substantial executive authority without sufficient accountability to the President.”
The entities affected by the move were established by Congress to be mostly independent, but Trump has adhered to an interpretation of the Constitution known as the unitary executive theory, asserting that the president has the power to supervise and control the entire executive branch.
Along with the SEC and CFTC, other financial regulators affected by the executive order include the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
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