States sue Trump admin over deregulations executive order

A group of three states filed a lawsuit Thursday challenging President Trump’s 2017 executive order requiring federal agencies to repeal at least two standing regulations for each new regulation added.

California, Minnesota and Oregon filed the joint lawsuit in the District Court for the District of Columbia, alleging that the executive order is unconstitutional and violates the federal Administrative Procedure Act.

{mosads}Trump issued the executive order two years ago as part of his administration’s efforts to push for deregulation. The administration argued at the time that the order was designed to offset the costs of any new rules.

The lawsuit is directed against Trump, Office of Management and Budget Director (OMB) Mick Mulvaney and several members of the president’s Cabinet, including Labor Secretary Alex Acosta and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Andrew Wheeler.

Thursday’s complaint alleges that the order exceeds Trump’s constitutional authority, violates the separation of powers doctrine in the Constitution and goes against the president’s duty to take due care in executing laws.

It also claims that several federal agencies, including the OMB, EPA and Energy Department, “have acted in excess of their statutory jurisdiction” in comply with the order.

“As a result, numerous federal regulations addressing matters of public health, safety, welfare, and the environment have been and will continue to be revised, delayed, withdrawn, or repealed by agencies, including the Agency Defendants, to comply with the Order’s arbitrary mandates, and new rules will be delayed or not proposed at all,” the complaint reads.

“This deprives Plaintiff States of the benefits those regulations would have provided, in some instances leaving them exposed to harms they may be unable to adequately address themselves.”

This is not the first lawsuit challenging the executive order on regulations: The Trump administration is also facing another complaint in the D.C. District Court from several labor groups, including the AFL-CIO.