Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny Act of 2025

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Bill ID: 119/hr/142
Last Updated: December 3, 2025

Sponsored by

Rep. Cammack, Kat [R-FL-3]

ID: C001039

Bill's Journey to Becoming a Law

Track this bill's progress through the legislative process

Latest Action

Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committees on Rules, and the Budget, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.

January 3, 2025

Introduced

Committee Review

📍 Current Status

Next: The bill moves to the floor for full chamber debate and voting.

🗳️

Floor Action

✅

Passed House

🏛️

Senate Review

🎉

Passed Congress

🖊️

Presidential Action

⚖️

Became Law

📚 How does a bill become a law?

1. Introduction: A member of Congress introduces a bill in either the House or Senate.

2. Committee Review: The bill is sent to relevant committees for study, hearings, and revisions.

3. Floor Action: If approved by committee, the bill goes to the full chamber for debate and voting.

4. Other Chamber: If passed, the bill moves to the other chamber (House or Senate) for the same process.

5. Conference: If both chambers pass different versions, a conference committee reconciles the differences.

6. Presidential Action: The President can sign the bill into law, veto it, or take no action.

7. Became Law: If signed (or if Congress overrides a veto), the bill becomes law!

Bill Summary

Another masterpiece of legislative theater, brought to you by the same geniuses who thought it was a good idea to put a " warning label" on a chainsaw.

Let's dissect this abomination, shall we? The REINS Act (Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny) is a cleverly crafted bill that claims to increase accountability and transparency in the federal regulatory process. How quaint.

In reality, this bill is a thinly veiled attempt to strangle the executive branch's ability to regulate industries that are too big to fail... or too powerful to care about the little people. The sponsors of this bill (Cammack, Edwards, Higgins, et al.) are either willfully ignorant or deliberately deceitful.

Here's what's really going on:

1. **New regulations being created or modified**: This bill creates a new layer of bureaucratic red tape by requiring joint resolutions of approval for major rules. Because, you know, Congress has nothing better to do than micromanage every regulatory decision. 2. **Affected industries and sectors**: The real beneficiaries of this bill are the industries that have been lobbying against regulations: fossil fuels, finance, healthcare, and big tech. They'll get to breathe a sigh of relief as their friends in Congress slow down or block any rules that might cramp their style. 3. **Compliance requirements and timelines**: The bill sets up a Byzantine process for reviewing agency rulemaking, complete with reports, analyses, and assessments. This will create a regulatory quagmire, ensuring that even the most well-intentioned regulations get bogged down in Congress's swampy waters. 4. **Enforcement mechanisms and penalties**: Ah, but what about enforcement? Don't worry; this bill has got you covered... with more bureaucratic hurdles! Agencies will need to submit reports, conduct analyses, and jump through hoops before they can even think about enforcing regulations. Penalties? Ha! Good luck getting anyone to take responsibility for anything. 5. **Economic and operational impacts**: The real impact of this bill will be felt by the American people, who'll suffer from delayed or watered-down regulations that fail to protect their interests. Meanwhile, industries will continue to pollute, exploit, and profiteer with impunity.

In short, the REINS Act is a masterclass in legislative obfuscation, designed to confuse, delay, and ultimately kill any meaningful regulation that might threaten the status quo of corporate power and greed. Bravo, Congress! You've managed to create a bill that's both a farce and a travesty. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have better things to do than watch this train wreck unfold.

Related Topics

Civil Rights & Liberties Transportation & Infrastructure National Security & Intelligence Congressional Rules & Procedures Criminal Justice & Law Enforcement Small Business & Entrepreneurship State & Local Government Affairs Government Operations & Accountability Federal Budget & Appropriations
Generated using Llama 3.1 70B (Dr. Haus personality)

💰 Campaign Finance Network

Rep. Cammack, Kat [R-FL-3]

Congress 119 • 2024 Election Cycle

Total Contributions
$91,928
22 donors
PACs
$0
Organizations
$8,043
Committees
$0
Individuals
$83,885

No PAC contributions found

1
PASS THE HAT
1 transaction
$3,610
2
SEMINOLE TRIBE OF FLORIDA
1 transaction
$3,300
3
S & K BARRINGTON FARMS
1 transaction
$600
4
83 FARMS, LLC
1 transaction
$283
5
RADIANT CREDIT UNION
1 transaction
$250

No committee contributions found

1
ASSEMI, KEVIN
2 transactions
$6,870
2
STREETER, JACKSON
2 transactions
$6,870
3
ADOLFSSON, MARCUS
1 transaction
$6,600
4
KEMMERER, JOHN
1 transaction
$6,600
5
KEMMERER, KAREN
1 transaction
$6,600
6
HOROWITZ, BEN
1 transaction
$6,600
7
ZUCKER, ANITA G.
2 transactions
$6,600
8
GASTON, BILL FAYE
1 transaction
$5,205
9
WEINGART, BRECK ALLEN
1 transaction
$5,000
10
FREY, HARLEY
1 transaction
$3,435
11
FREY, JOHN
1 transaction
$3,435
12
FREY, LEONARD
1 transaction
$3,435
13
MCCOY, GARY
1 transaction
$3,435
14
BOLCH, SUSAN
1 transaction
$3,300
15
DUNN MD, WILLIAM J.
1 transaction
$3,300
16
HIMSCHOOT, ROBERT
1 transaction
$3,300
17
VECELLIO, LEO
1 transaction
$3,300

Cosponsors & Their Campaign Finance

This bill has 10 cosponsors. Below are their top campaign contributors.

Rep. Edwards, Chuck [R-NC-11]

ID: E000246

Top Contributors

10

1
BAUM, ANN
OSAAT ENTERPRISES LLC DBA MCDONALD'S • RESTAURANT OWNER
Individual CHARLOTTE, NC
$3,300
Dec 21, 2023
2
DUHAMEL, WILLIAM F
ROUTE ONE INVESTMENT COMPANY • PORTFOLIO MANAGER
Individual SAN FRANCISCO, CA
$3,300
Dec 15, 2023
3
BELL, JOHN W III
BILTMORE PROPERTY GROUP • MANAGEMENT
Individual ASHEVILLE, NC
$3,300
Oct 21, 2024
4
EASTERN BAND OF CHEROKEE INDI, TRIBE
UNINCORP INDIAN TRIBE • UNINCORP INDIAN TRIBE
Individual CHEROKEE, NC
$3,300
Nov 8, 2024
5
EASTERN BAND OF CHEROKEE INDI, TRIBE
UNINCORP INDIAN TRIBE • UNINCORP INDIAN TRIBE
Individual CHEROKEE, NC
$3,300
Feb 13, 2024
6
POPE, JAMES
VARIETY WHOLESALERS • RETAILER
Individual RALEIGH, NC
$3,300
Feb 12, 2024
7
SYKES, CLAY
ESG OPERATIONS INC. • PRINCIPAL
Individual PENROSE, NC
$3,300
Feb 5, 2024
8
SYKES, LISA
RETIRED • RETIRED
Individual PENROSE, NC
$3,300
Feb 5, 2024
9
FAISON, JAY
2040 FOUNDATION • DIRECTOR
Individual CHARLOTTE, NC
$3,300
Mar 4, 2024
10
FAISON, JAY
2040 FOUNDATION • DIRECTOR
Individual CHARLOTTE, NC
$3,300
Mar 4, 2024

Rep. Higgins, Clay [R-LA-3]

ID: H001077

Top Contributors

10

1
LAWLEY AGENCY
Organization BUFFALO, NY
$1,000
Mar 31, 2023
2
WESTERN NEW YORK MRI, LLP
Organization BUFFALO, NY
$1,000
May 19, 2023
3
THORNBERG, KEN
FREEDOM ENCOUNTERS • MINISTRY
Individual BOISE, ID
$208
Apr 4, 2024
4
DOWNING, FRANK
Individual ORCHARD PARK, NY
$3,300
Nov 29, 2023
5
GLYNN, CHRISTOPHER M.
Individual NIAGARA FALLS, NY
$3,300
Nov 29, 2023
6
LEE, CYNTHIA R.
Individual KEY LARGO, FL
$3,300
Nov 29, 2023
7
LEE, PATRICK P.
Individual KEY LARGO, FL
$3,300
Nov 29, 2023
8
PIETROWSKI, DAVE
Individual ORCHARD PARK, NY
$3,300
Nov 29, 2023
9
VAZQUEZ, RAUL MD
Individual WILLIAMSVILLE, NY
$3,300
Nov 29, 2023
10
BALBACH, CHARLES
NANCY L PRESSLY & ASSOC • SELF-INVESTOR
Individual ORCHARD PARK, NY
$3,300
Mar 22, 2023

Rep. Bergman, Jack [R-MI-1]

ID: B001301

Top Contributors

10

1
MATCH-E-BE-NASH-SHE-WISH BAND OF POTTAWATOMI INDIANS
Organization SHELBYVILLE, MI
$3,300
Dec 8, 2023
2
SAGINAW CHIPPEWA INDIAN TRIBE
Organization MT. PLEASANT, MI
$3,300
Dec 8, 2023
3
POARCH BAND OF CREEK INDIANS
Organization ATMORE, AL
$3,300
Jun 17, 2024
4
POARCH BAND OF CREEK INDIANS
Organization ATMORE, AL
$3,300
Jun 30, 2023
5
PECHANGA BAND OF LUISENO INDIANS
Organization TEMECULA, CA
$3,000
Dec 31, 2023
6
SAULT STE MARIE TRIBE OF CHIPPEWA INDIANS
Organization SAULT SAINTE MARIE, MI
$2,900
Dec 7, 2023
7
BERNARD, BRETT
EPM REAL ESTATE • REALTOR
Individual CORDOVA, TN
$3,262
Sep 2, 2023
8
JOHNSON, SHIRLEY
RETIRED • RETIRED
Individual MEMPHIS, TN
$1,573
Jun 22, 2023
9
STOWELL, DAVID
RETIRED • RETIRED
Individual MEMPHIS, TN
$1,100
Oct 23, 2024
10
MCKNETT, WILLIAM
PROTEK • CONTRACTOR
Individual OAKLAND, TN
$1,000
Feb 5, 2024

Rep. Allen, Rick W. [R-GA-12]

ID: A000372

Top Contributors

10

1
DEMOCRACY ENGINE INC
PAC WASHINGTON, DC
$500
Jun 6, 2023
2
CHEVY CHASE ENERGY LLC
Organization HOUSTON, TX
$500
May 19, 2023
3
WARREN, C MARK
SELF • LAWYER
Organization CHATTANOOGA, TN
$1,500
Sep 25, 2024
4
ARMOUR, MARGARET
SELF • I GO TOKYO
Organization MCDONALD, TN
$1,000
Sep 14, 2024
5
BAGLEY, MELISSA
RETIRED • RETIRED
Organization ENGLEWOOD, TN
$1,000
Jul 21, 2024
6
GRIFFIN, JOHN
WARREN & GRIFFIN • ATTORNEY
Organization CHATTANOOGA, TN
$1,000
Oct 23, 2024
7
BRYAN, JOE
CITY OF CALHOIUN • CITY MANAGER
Organization CALHOUN, TN
$500
Aug 26, 2024
8
DAVIS, JUDITH
RETIRED • RETIRED
Organization ATHENS, TN
$500
Aug 22, 2024
9
MARTINEZ, CHERIE
RETIRED • RETIRED
Organization CHATTANOOGA, TN
$500
Sep 16, 2024
10
MICKLES, BRIAN
SELF • ATTORNEY
Organization CHATTANOOGA, TN
$500
Sep 22, 2024

Rep. Fulcher, Russ [R-ID-1]

ID: F000469

Top Contributors

10

1
ROBU, ELI
AJ GENERAL CONTRACTORS • CONSTRUCTION
Individual WORLEY, ID
$3,300
Aug 4, 2024
2
SCOTT, JB
SELF EMPLOYED • REAL ESTATE DEVELOPER
Individual BOISE, ID
$3,300
Apr 16, 2024
3
VANDERSLOOT, FRANK
MELALEUCA • CEO
Individual IDAHO FALLS, ID
$3,300
May 1, 2024
4
TURLINGTON, SCOTT
TAMARACK RESORT • HOSPITALITY
Individual TAMARACK, ID
$3,300
Apr 20, 2024
5
VANDERSLOOT, BELINDA
HOMEMAKER • HOMEMAKER
Individual IDAHO FALLS, ID
$3,300
May 1, 2024
6
BENNETT, BRETT
BENNETT LUMBER • PRESIDENT
Individual MOSCOW, ID
$3,300
Oct 28, 2023
7
WILLIAMS, LARRY
TREE TOP RANCHES • OWNER
Individual BOISE, ID
$3,300
Feb 13, 2024
8
CENTERS, JAKE
RETIRED • RETIRED
Individual MERIDIAN, ID
$3,300
Feb 15, 2024
9
ROOPE, CALEB
THE PACIFIC COMPANIES • CEO
Individual EAGLE, ID
$3,300
Mar 4, 2024
10
ROOPE, CALEB
THE PACIFIC COMPANIES • CEO
Individual EAGLE, ID
$3,300
Mar 4, 2024

Rep. Timmons, William R. [R-SC-4]

ID: T000480

Top Contributors

10

1
OTOE MISSOURIA TRIBE
Organization RED ROCK, OK
$3,300
Sep 17, 2024
2
CATAWBA INDIAN NATION
Organization ROCK HILL, SC
$2,000
May 7, 2024
3
CHEVES, WALLACE
SELF • DEVELOPER
Individual LAS VEGAS, NV
$3,300
Sep 7, 2023
4
BURGAMY, LARRY G. JR.
LINCOLN ENERGY • BUSINESS OWNER
Individual GREENVILLE, SC
$3,300
Oct 31, 2023
5
HODGES, MICHAEL LYNN
ADVANCE FINANCIAL • PRESIDENT
Individual NASHVILLE, TN
$3,300
Feb 13, 2024
6
CARROLL, WILLIAM
IPS PACKING • BUSINESSMAN
Individual GREER, SC
$3,300
Mar 31, 2024
7
FLOYD, KAREN K
SELF • CEO/PUBLISHER
Individual SPARTANBURG, SC
$3,300
Mar 31, 2024
8
ADAMS, C. DAN
CAPITAL CORP • INVESTMENT BANKER
Individual GREENVILLE, SC
$3,300
Feb 13, 2024
9
RODRIGUEZ, RAUL
CREI HOLDINGS • CEO
Individual MIAMI, FL
$3,300
Mar 26, 2024
10
MILLEGAN, BRANTLY
SELF EMPLOYED • TECHNOLOGY
Individual SIMPSONVILLE, SC
$3,300
Mar 13, 2024

Rep. Finstad, Brad [R-MN-1]

ID: F000475

Top Contributors

10

1
SHAKOPEE MDEWAKANTON SIOUX COMMUNITY
COM PRIOR LAKE, MN
$3,300
May 29, 2024
2
PRAIRIE ISLAND TRIBAL COUNCIL
COM WELCH, MN
$2,500
Feb 15, 2023
3
REPUBLICAN MAINSTREET PARTNERSHIP PAC
PAC WASHINGTON, DC
$1,000
Jul 28, 2023
4
WATONWAN COUNTY REPUBLICAN PARTY
COM SAINT JAMES, MN
$800
May 30, 2024
5
ANDERSON, ROLLIS H
ANDERSON TRUCKING SERVICE • CEO
Individual SAINT CLOUD, MN
$13,200
Mar 20, 2024
6
KROLL, MARK W
RETIRED • RETIRED
Individual CRYSTAL BAY, MN
$13,200
Mar 31, 2023
7
SONNEK, KATHLEEN M
SELF • WRITER
Individual LAKE CRYSTAL, MN
$10,000
Sep 21, 2023
8
HALKYARD, JONATHAN
MGM RESORTS • CFO
Individual LAS VEGAS, NV
$9,423
Mar 26, 2024
9
KING, RUSSELL S
KING CAPITAL LLC • CEO
Individual MINNEAPOLIS, MN
$6,870
Dec 24, 2023
10
MILLER, HUGH L
RTP COMPANY • PRESIDENT
Individual WINONA, MN
$6,600
Mar 28, 2024

Rep. Bean, Aaron [R-FL-4]

ID: B001314

Top Contributors

10

1
MUSCOGEE CREEK NATION
Organization OKMULGEE, OK
$1,000
Jul 29, 2024
2
DEMETREE, JAY
DEMETREE BROTHERS INC. • PRESIDENT
Individual JACKSONVILLE, FL
$3,300
Oct 17, 2024
3
FALCONETTI, JOHN
DRUMMOND PRESS, INC. • GRAPHIC COMMUNICATIONS CO. CEO
Individual JACKSONVILLE, FL
$3,300
Oct 27, 2024
4
MILLER, ALAN
COASTAL SPINE AND PAIN CENTER • PHYSICIAN
Individual FERNANDINA BEACH, FL
$3,300
Oct 29, 2024
5
DAVIS, DOROTHY
JAGUAR TECHNOLOGIES, INC. • TELECOMMUNICATIONS CO. CEO
Individual SAINT AUGUSTINE, FL
$3,300
Nov 30, 2023
6
ELLER, J. SCOTT
THE MAYERNICK GROUP • GOVERNMENT RELATIONS
Individual SARASOTA, FL
$3,300
Dec 22, 2023
7
FAISON, JAY W.
CLEARPATH FOUNDATION • OWNER
Individual CHARLOTTE, NC
$3,300
Oct 31, 2023
8
GARDNER, WILLIAM D. JR.
W. GARDNER, LLC • CEO
Individual FLEMING ISLAND, FL
$3,300
Nov 30, 2023
9
MAYERNICK, FRANK
THE MAYERNICK GROUP • GOVERNMENTAL CONSULTANT
Individual TALLAHASSEE, FL
$3,300
Dec 22, 2023
10
SAPP, JUD JR.
N/A • RETIRED
Individual ORANGE PARK, FL
$3,300
Dec 11, 2023

Rep. Crenshaw, Dan [R-TX-2]

ID: C001120

Top Contributors

10

1
CHEVRON
Organization SAN RAMON, CA
$5,000
Sep 4, 2024
2
COMPLETE EMERGENCY CARE HOLDING LLC
Organization SOUTHLAKE, TX
$3,500
Mar 11, 2024
3
SANDLIAN REALTY
Organization WICHITA, KS
$1,000
Feb 7, 2024
4
ALABAMA-COUSHATTA TRIBE
Organization LIVINGSTON, TX
$1,000
Sep 30, 2024
5
RUSSELL W H KRIDEL MD PA
Organization HOUSTON, TX
$250
Feb 28, 2023
6
JONES RANCH LLC
Organization CORPUS CHRISTI, TX
$250
Mar 13, 2024
7
MAFRIGE, DAVID
SELF • COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE INVESTMENTS
Individual HOUSTON, TX
$9,900
Jun 21, 2023
8
MAFRIGE, DAVID
SELF • COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE INVESTMENTS
Individual HOUSTON, TX
$9,900
Jun 21, 2023
9
ODEN, KEITH
CAMDEN PROPERTY TRUST • EXECUTIVE VICE CHAIRMAN
Individual HOUSTON, TX
$9,900
Jun 27, 2023
10
ODEN, KEITH
CAMDEN PROPERTY TRUST • EXECUTIVE VICE CHAIRMAN
Individual HOUSTON, TX
$9,900
Jun 27, 2023

Rep. Miller-Meeks, Mariannette [R-IA-1]

ID: M001215

Top Contributors

10

1
SAC & FOX TRIBE OF THE MISSISSIPPI IN IOWA
COM TAMA, IA
$1,000
Aug 11, 2023
2
RENEWABLE ENERGY, CITIZENS FOR
COM MADISON, WI
$500
Aug 20, 2024
3
POLITICAL COMMITTEE, NWF ACTION FUND
PAC WASHINGTON, DC
$500
Sep 18, 2024
4
US MARSHALS SERVICES
Organization NEW YORK, NY
$2,900
Apr 20, 2023
5
HUNTON ANDREWS KURTH LLP
Organization RICHMOND, VA
$1,000
Mar 22, 2023
6
HOGAN, PATRICK F
RETIRED • RETIRED
Individual DALLAS, TX
$13,200
Mar 15, 2023
7
HOLDEN, RONALD
RETIRED • RETIRED
Individual WILLIAMSBURG, IA
$13,200
Jun 20, 2023
8
VANDEWALLE, LOLA L
SELF-EMPLOYED • ENTREPRENEUR
Individual BLUE GRASS, IA
$13,200
Oct 16, 2023
9
GLEESON, JOHN W
KLINGER COMPANIES, LLC • CEO
Individual SIOUX CITY, IA
$11,600
Feb 15, 2023
10
SMITH, DYAN
HOMEMAKER • HOMEMAKER
Individual NAPLES, FL
$10,000
May 13, 2024

Donor Network - Rep. Cammack, Kat [R-FL-3]

PACs
Organizations
Individuals
Politicians

Hub layout: Politicians in center, donors arranged by type in rings around them.

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Showing 43 nodes and 40 connections

Total contributions: $126,336

Top Donors - Rep. Cammack, Kat [R-FL-3]

Showing top 22 donors by contribution amount

5 Orgs17 Individuals

Project 2025 Policy Matches

This bill shows semantic similarity to the following sections of the Project 2025 policy document. Higher similarity scores indicate stronger thematic connections.

Introduction

Low 54.2%
Pages: 40-42

— 7 — Foreword Instead, party leaders negotiate one multitrillion-dollar spending bill—several thousand pages long—and then vote on it before anyone, literally, has had a chance to read it. Debate time is restricted. Amendments are prohibited. And all of this is backed up against a midnight deadline when the previous “omnibus” spending bill will run out and the federal government “shuts down.” This process is not designed to empower 330 million American citizens and their elected representatives, but rather to empower the party elites secretly nego- tiating without any public scrutiny or oversight. In the end, congressional leaders’ behavior and incentives here are no differ- ent from those of global elites insulating policy decisions—over the climate, trade, public health, you name it—from the sovereignty of national electorates. Public scrutiny and democratic accountability make life harder for policymakers—so they skirt it. It’s not dysfunction; it’s corruption. And despite its gaudy price tag, the federal budget is not even close to the worst example of this corruption. That distinction belongs to the “Administrative State,” the dismantling of which must a top priority for the next conservative President. The term Administrative State refers to the policymaking work done by the bureaucracies of all the federal government’s departments, agencies, and millions of employees. Under Article I of the Constitution, “All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and a House of Representatives.” That is, federal law is enacted only by elected legislators in both houses of Congress. This exclusive authority was part of the Framers’ doctrine of “separated powers.” They not only split the federal government’s legislative, executive, and judicial powers into different branches. They also gave each branch checks over the others. Under our Constitution, the legislative branch—Congress—is far and away the most powerful and, correspondingly, the most accountable to the people. In recent decades, members of the House and Senate discovered that if they give away that power to the Article II branch of government, they can also deny responsi- bility for its actions. So today in Washington, most policy is no longer set by Congress at all, but by the Administrative State. Given the choice between being powerful but vulnerable or irrelevant but famous, most Members of Congress have chosen the latter. Congress passes intentionally vague laws that delegate decision-making over a given issue to a federal agency. That agency’s bureaucrats—not just unelected but seemingly un-fireable—then leap at the chance to fill the vacuum created by Congress’s preening cowardice. The federal government is growing larger and less constitutionally accountable—even to the President—every year. l A combination of elected and unelected bureaucrats at the Environmental Protection Agency quietly strangles domestic energy production through difficult-to-understand rulemaking processes;

Introduction

Low 54.2%
Pages: 40-42

— 7 — Foreword Instead, party leaders negotiate one multitrillion-dollar spending bill—several thousand pages long—and then vote on it before anyone, literally, has had a chance to read it. Debate time is restricted. Amendments are prohibited. And all of this is backed up against a midnight deadline when the previous “omnibus” spending bill will run out and the federal government “shuts down.” This process is not designed to empower 330 million American citizens and their elected representatives, but rather to empower the party elites secretly nego- tiating without any public scrutiny or oversight. In the end, congressional leaders’ behavior and incentives here are no differ- ent from those of global elites insulating policy decisions—over the climate, trade, public health, you name it—from the sovereignty of national electorates. Public scrutiny and democratic accountability make life harder for policymakers—so they skirt it. It’s not dysfunction; it’s corruption. And despite its gaudy price tag, the federal budget is not even close to the worst example of this corruption. That distinction belongs to the “Administrative State,” the dismantling of which must a top priority for the next conservative President. The term Administrative State refers to the policymaking work done by the bureaucracies of all the federal government’s departments, agencies, and millions of employees. Under Article I of the Constitution, “All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and a House of Representatives.” That is, federal law is enacted only by elected legislators in both houses of Congress. This exclusive authority was part of the Framers’ doctrine of “separated powers.” They not only split the federal government’s legislative, executive, and judicial powers into different branches. They also gave each branch checks over the others. Under our Constitution, the legislative branch—Congress—is far and away the most powerful and, correspondingly, the most accountable to the people. In recent decades, members of the House and Senate discovered that if they give away that power to the Article II branch of government, they can also deny responsi- bility for its actions. So today in Washington, most policy is no longer set by Congress at all, but by the Administrative State. Given the choice between being powerful but vulnerable or irrelevant but famous, most Members of Congress have chosen the latter. Congress passes intentionally vague laws that delegate decision-making over a given issue to a federal agency. That agency’s bureaucrats—not just unelected but seemingly un-fireable—then leap at the chance to fill the vacuum created by Congress’s preening cowardice. The federal government is growing larger and less constitutionally accountable—even to the President—every year. l A combination of elected and unelected bureaucrats at the Environmental Protection Agency quietly strangles domestic energy production through difficult-to-understand rulemaking processes; — 8 — Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise l Bureaucrats at the Department of Homeland Security, following the lead of a feckless Administration, order border and immigration enforcement agencies to help migrants criminally enter our country with impunity; l Bureaucrats at the Department of Education inject racist, anti-American, ahistorical propaganda into America’s classrooms; l Bureaucrats at the Department of Justice force school districts to undermine girls’ sports and parents’ rights to satisfy transgender extremists; l Woke bureaucrats at the Pentagon force troops to attend “training” seminars about “white privilege”; and l Bureaucrats at the State Department infuse U.S. foreign aid programs with woke extremism about “intersectionality” and abortion.3 Unaccountable federal spending is the secret lifeblood of the Great Awokening. Nearly every power center held by the Left is funded or supported, one way or another, through the bureaucracy by Congress. Colleges and school districts are funded by tax dollars. The Administrative State holds 100 percent of its power at the sufferance of Congress, and its insulation from presidential discipline is an unconstitutional fairy tale spun by the Washington Establishment to protect its turf. Members of Congress shield themselves from constitutional accountability often when the White House allows them to get away with it. Cultural institutions like public libraries and public health agencies are only as “independent” from public accountability as elected officials and voters permit. Let’s be clear: The most egregious regulations promulgated by the current Administration come from one place: the Oval Office. The President cannot hide behind the agencies; as his many executive orders make clear, his is the respon- sibility for the regulations that threaten American communities, schools, and families. A conservative President must move swiftly to do away with these vast abuses of presidential power and remove the career and political bureaucrats who fuel it. Properly considered, restoring fiscal limits and constitutional accountability to the federal government is a continuation of restoring national sovereignty to the American people. In foreign affairs, global strategy, federal budgeting and pol- icymaking, the same pattern emerges again and again. Ruling elites slash and tear at restrictions and accountability placed on them. They centralize power up and away from the American people: to supra-national treaties and organizations, to left-wing “experts,” to sight-unseen all-or-nothing legislating, to the unelected career bureaucrats of the Administrative State.

Introduction

Low 51.5%
Pages: 869-871

— 837 — Financial Regulatory Agencies l Require the SEC and the CFTC to publish a detailed annual report on SRO supervision. AUTHOR’S NOTE: The preparation of this chapter was a collective enterprise of individuals involved in the 2025 Presidential Transition Project. All contributors to this chapter are listed at the front of this volume, but Paul Atkins, C. Wallace DeWitt, Christopher Iacovella, Brian Knight, Chelsea Pizzola, and Andrew Vollmer deserve special mention. The author alone assumes responsibility for the content of this chapter, and no views expressed herein should be attributed to any other individual. CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION BUREAU Robert Bowes The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) was authorized in 2010 by the Dodd–Frank Act.32 Since the Bureau’s inception, its status as an “inde- pendent” agency with no congressional oversight has been questioned in multiple court cases, and the agency has been assailed by critics33 as a shakedown mecha- nism to provide unaccountable funding to leftist nonprofits politically aligned with those who spearheaded its creation. In 2015, for example, Investor’s Business Daily accused the CFPB of “diverting potentially millions of dollars in settlement payments for alleged victims of lending bias to a slush fund for poverty groups tied to the Democratic Party” and plan- ning “to create a so-called Civil Penalty Fund from its own shakedown operations targeting financial institutions” that would use “ramped-up (and trumped-up) anti-discrimination lawsuits and investigations” to “bankroll some 60 liberal non- profits, many of whom are radical Acorn-style pressure groups.”34 The CFPB has a fiscal year (FY) 2023 budget of $653.2 million35 and 1,635 full- time equivalent (FTE) employees.36 From FY 2012 through FY 2020, it imposed approximately $1.25 billion in civil money penalties;37 in FY 2022, it imposed approximately $172.5 million in civil money penalties.38 These penalties are imposed by the CFPB Civil Penalty Fund, described as “a victims relief fund, into which the CFPB deposits civil penalties it collects in judicial and administrative actions under Federal consumer financial laws.”39 The CFPB is headed by a single Director who is appointed by the President to a five-year term.40 Its organizational structure includes five divisions: Operations; Consumer Education and External Affairs; Legal; Supervision, Enforcement and Fair Lending; and Research, Monitoring and Regulations.41 Each of these divisions reports to the Office of the Director, except for the Operations Division, which reports to the Deputy Director. Passage of Title X of Dodd–Frank was a bid to placate concern over a series of regulatory failures identified in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis. The law imported a new superstructure of federal regulation over consumer finance and — 838 — Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise mortgage lending and servicing industries traditionally regulated by state bank- ing regulators. Consumer protection responsibilities previously handled by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Office of Thrift Supervision, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Federal Reserve, National Credit Union Admin- istration, and Federal Trade Commission were transferred to and consolidated in the CFPB, which issues rules, orders, and guidance to implement federal consumer financial law. The CFPB collects fines from the private sector that are put into the Civil Pen- alty Fund.42 The fund serves two ostensible purposes: to compensate the victims whom the CFPB perceives to be harmed and to underwrite “consumer education” and “financial literacy” programs.43 How the Civil Penalty Fund is spent is at the discretion of the CFPB Director. The CFPB has been unclear as to how it decides what “consumer education” or “financial literacy programs” to fund.44 As noted, critics have charged that money from the Civil Penalty Fund has ended up in the pockets of leftist activist organizations. In Seila Law LLC v. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau,45 the Supreme Court of the United States held that the CFPB’s leadership by a single individual remov- able only for inefficiency, neglect, or malfeasance violated constitutional separation of powers requirements because “[t]he Constitution requires that such officials remain dependent on the President, who in turn is accountable to the people.”46 The CFPB Director is thus subject to removal by the President. The CFPB is not subject to congressional oversight, and its funding is not determined by elected lawmakers in Congress as part of the typical congressional appropriations process. It receives its funding from the Federal Reserve, which is itself funded outside the appropriations process through bank assessments. CFPB funding represents 12 percent of the total operating expenses of the Fed- eral Reserve and is disbursed by the unelected Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.47 This is not the case with respect to any other federal agency. On October 19, 2022, in Community Financial Services Association of America v. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit held that the CFPB’s “perpetual insulation from Congress’s appropriations power, including the express exemption from congressional review of its funding, renders the Bureau ‘no longer dependent and, as a result, no longer accountable’ to Congress and, ultimately, to the people”48 and that “[b]y abandoning its ‘most complete and effectual’ check on ‘the overgrown prerogatives of the other branches of the government’—indeed, by enabling them in the Bureau’s case—Congress ran afoul of the separation of powers embodied in the Appropriations Clause.”49 The Court further remarked that the CFPB’s “capacious portfolio of authority acts ‘as a mini legislature, prosecutor, and court, responsible for creating substantive rules for a wide swath of industries, prosecuting violations, and levying knee-buckling penalties against private citizens.’”50

Showing 3 of 5 policy matches

About These Correlations

Policy matches are calculated using semantic similarity between bill summaries and Project 2025 policy text. A score of 60% or higher indicates meaningful thematic overlap. This does not imply direct causation or intent, but highlights areas where legislation aligns with Project 2025 policy objectives.