Dems could undo Trump policies faster, but they’re not

Undoing many of the policies of his predecessor is one of President Joe Biden’s top priorities. In early February, Biden even got a little defensive about all the executive actions he was taking in his first days in office to halt policies set by President Donald Trump. “I’m not making new law,” he said Feb. 2. “I’m eliminating bad policy.”

But as easy as it sounds on the campaign hustings or in a 30-second political ad, it’s complicated to overturn rules from earlier administrations. There is one

tool, however, that Biden and the Democratic Congress could use to undo the policies the Trump administration left behind. A little-used law called the Congressional Review Act allows a new administration with a like-minded Congress to fast-track the repeal of regulations and other executive

actions with simple majority votes in both chambers and no filibuster in the Senate.

So far, though, Congress has made no attempt to use it, and the president has not called for it. And it appears there are no specific plans to do so, at least not on health-related policies.

Time is of the essence

when it comes to using the CRA. With a few exceptions, it applies to only those Trump administration policies finalized between Aug. 21, 2020, and Jan. 20, 2021. And it’s available for only the first 60 legislative days — those that either the House or Senate is officially working in Washington —

of the new Congress. That end date will likely land sometime in April.

KHN is tracking health regulations, guidance and executive orders implemented during Trump’s term and whether those policies will continue under the Biden administration.

Trump and the Gop-controlled

Congress were not shy about using the CRA to eliminate policies implemented by the Obama administration. Between Feb. 14 and May 17, 2017, Congress passed and the president signed rollbacks of 14 regulations, according to the Congressional Research Service.