Trump’s ‘one in, two out’ regulatory policy backed by 14 states

More than a dozen states are coming to President Trump’s defense over one of his most controversial executive orders on regulations.

Fourteen Republican attorneys general argue in a legal brief filed Monday with the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia that Trump’s “one in, two out” executive order would “restore regulatory authority” to their states.

“Over the last several years, the administrative state has accelerated further the long-term growth of new regulatory burdens, while rarely eliminating unnecessary regulations issued in the past,” the attorneys general write.

{mosads}“The result is a situation where agencies have implemented far more regulatory burdens than Congress ever envisioned,” they added. “This unlawfully-imposed burden has been largely borne by the states and their citizens.”

Trump’s executive order, which requires federal agencies to repeal two regulations for each new rule they issue, is facing a lawsuit from left-leaning groups that warn it would interfere with important environmental, health and safety protections. Groups challenging the order include the National Resources Defense Council, Communications Workers of America and Public Citizen.

But the attorneys general argue that Trump’s executive order “fits squarely within long-standing tradition.”  

“Presidents of both parties have put mechanisms in place to ensure centralized review of regulations,” they write. “These past presidents have also issued executive orders instructing federal agencies to consider … the cumulative costs of regulations.”

The states supporting “one in, two out” include West Virginia, Wisconsin, Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Georgia, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Nevada, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas and Wyoming.