Before he took office, Donald Trump promised to roll back the reach of the federal government, saying that he would end the "regulation industry" on the first day of his presidency. The effect has been immediate and dramatic: According to data compiled by POLITICO, significant federal regulation since Trump's inauguration has slowed to an almost total halt.
From Inauguration Day until the end of May, just 15 regulations were approved by the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), the White House department that reviews important new federal rules. That's by far the fewest among comparable periods since recordkeeping began in the 1990s: Ninety-three rules were approved during the same period in Barack Obama's administration, and 114 under George W. Bush.
