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Showing archive for:  “Administrative Law”

Trump Fisheries Order May Be a First Step Toward Global Reforms

The U.S. fisheries sector is the beneficiary of an April 17 executive order from President Donald Trump. The order’s implementation could result in reduced regulatory burdens and a procompetitive, economically efficient expansions of U.S. fisheries output. It might also inspire U.S. consideration of additional efforts to improve global fisheries management. The Fisheries Executive Order Overregulation ... Trump Fisheries Order May Be a First Step Toward Global Reforms

President Trump Takes Aim at Anticompetitive Regulatory Barriers

Anticompetitive regulatory distortions are a major drag on the U.S. economy. President Donald Trump’s April 9 “Executive Order on Reducing Anti-Competitive Regulatory Barriers” has the potential to drive dramatic U.S. economic growth. Implementation of the executive order may be expected to face legal challenges and opposition from special interests who benefit from the status quo. A substantial ... President Trump Takes Aim at Anticompetitive Regulatory Barriers

Firing Independent Agency Leaders – Good Law, Sound Policy

President Donald Trump dismissed Alvaro Bedoya and Rebecca Slaughter last month as members of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), citing his authority under Article II of the U.S. Constitution. The two former commissioners responded that the dismissals were illegal and that they would sue for reinstatement. It is likely that, after all the litigation dust ... Firing Independent Agency Leaders – Good Law, Sound Policy

Termination Tuesday: A Quasi-Comprehensive, Quasi-Definitive Discussion of the FTC and Humphrey’s Executor

Author’s Note: Sometimes “quasi” means “sort of” or, as Merriam-Webster’s would have it, “having some resemblance usually by possession of certain attributes.” And sometimes, “some resemblance” means “not very much.” On March 18, President Donald Trump fired—or purported to fire—the two Democratic members of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC): Alvaro Bedoya and Rebecca Slaughter. Bedoya ... Termination Tuesday: A Quasi-Comprehensive, Quasi-Definitive Discussion of the FTC and Humphrey’s Executor

The FTC Firings Are About Something Bigger than Policy or Personnel

I practiced antitrust law for almost five decades. For most of that time, if someone asked what I did, I would have to explain what the word “antitrust” meant. Today, by contrast, antitrust is very much in the news, driven in the recent past by the aggressive actions and even more aggressive rhetoric of the ... The FTC Firings Are About Something Bigger than Policy or Personnel

Accountability Comes to the Independent Agencies

President Donald Trump took a significant step forward in consolidating his administration’s control over executive-branch policy by issuing a Feb. 18 executive order titled “Ensuring Accountability for All Agencies.” The accountability order extends direct presidential oversight beyond the “core” executive-branch departments to federal “independent agencies,” including multi-member commissions, such as the Securities and Exchange Commission ... Accountability Comes to the Independent Agencies

Supreme Court Decisions and Regulatory Reform

Three 2024 U.S. Supreme Court decisions issued in 2024 may over time substantially constrain federal agencies’ regulatory authority. The incoming Trump administration may wish to rely on those holdings in implementing its regulatory-reform strategy. Background In 2024, the Supreme Court rendered three decisions that could have major implications in limiting the scope of federal regulatory ... Supreme Court Decisions and Regulatory Reform

A Possible Federal Role in Reducing State Red Tape

The incoming Trump administration’s commitment to reduce extremely costly regulatory burdens will feature the new Department of Government Efficiency’s (DOGE) evaluation of federal overregulation. But economic research indicates that harmful regulatory bloat exists at the state level, as well. The new administration may wish to propose solutions to state regulatory overreach that harms many Americans. Generic Overregulation at the State ... A Possible Federal Role in Reducing State Red Tape

FTC Sues ‘Big 3’ Pharmaceutical Benefit Managers

My last post highlighted a July 2024 Federal Trade Commission (FTC) interim staff report that was critical of pharmaceutical benefit managers (PBMs)—so-called “middlemen” firms that specialize in negotiating with drugmakers for rebates on the list prices of drugs. I explained that the interim report’s analysis is at odds with economic research that delineates the substantial economic benefits ... FTC Sues ‘Big 3’ Pharmaceutical Benefit Managers

FTC Noncompete Rule–and FTC Competition Rulemaking–Are on the Ropes

Judge Ada Brown of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas issued an Aug. 20 order effectively striking down the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) April 2024 rule barring noncompete clauses (“noncompetes”) in employment contracts. Ryan LLC, a global tax-services and software provider, had challenged the rule, which had been scheduled to take ... FTC Noncompete Rule–and FTC Competition Rulemaking–Are on the Ropes

Vacatur’s All I Ever Wanted

Yep, more about noncompetes. I’ve been at this a bit. I’m aware. Just last week, and then again here, here, here, here, and here at Truth on the Market; here in a more formal journal article; and here with my International Center for Law & Economics (ICLE) colleagues and scholars of law and economics. Maybe ... Vacatur’s All I Ever Wanted

Life Moves Pretty Fast for the FCC in a Post-Loper World

Ferris Bueller famously said: “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” The same could be said for the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) latest effort to regulate broadband providers under Title II of the Communications Act, under what is commonly referred to as “net ... Life Moves Pretty Fast for the FCC in a Post-Loper World