Overnight Regulation: Trump considers waiving Jones Act for Puerto Rico | Senate confirms antitrust chief | Trump to speak on reg rollback | Maryland sues EPA over upwind pollution

by Nathaniel Weixel - 09/27/17 7:12 PM ET

Welcome to Overnight Regulation, your daily rundown of news from the federal agencies, Capitol Hill, the courts and beyond. It’s Wednesday night, and President Trump and congressional Republicans are rolling out their tax reform framework after putting ObamaCare repeal on hold indefinitely.

THE BIG STORY

The Trump administration said it is evaluating whether to waive U.S. shipping restrictions for Puerto Rico, where residents are without power after two devastating hurricanes.

A decision on the issue is “unlikely” to be made Wednesday, senior Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials said on a call with reporters, as DHS works with other parts of the government to make a determination.

President Trump also said it was possible the waiver could be lifted, though he said there was opposition to doing so.

{mosads}

“We’re thinking about that, but we have a lot of shippers and a lot of people that work in the shipping industry that don’t want the Jones Act lifted,” Trump told reporters.

What’s the backstory? The Trump administration has faced fierce backlash following reports on Tuesday that DHS would not temporarily lift the Jones Act rule, which requires that cargo shipments between U.S. ports only take place on American-made and operated vessels.

Will a waiver help? Senior officials cautioned that a waiver might not be necessary in this instance, because there are currently enough U.S. ships to deliver cargo to Puerto Rico.

However: Critics argue it only makes sense to provide a waiver to Puerto Rico as similar ones were issued for the U.S. mainland. They argue it could help get gasoline since other supplies delivered more quickly and cheaply to the island.

The DHS issued a two-week waiver, requested by the Department of Defense (DOD), to allow fuel shipments to Texas and Florida after Hurricanes Harvey and Irma.

Read Melanie Zanona’s story here.

There’s also support for a waiver among Republicans, including Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.). Olivia Beavers has more on McCain’s stance here.

Democrats on Wednesday also unveiled legislation to provide a waiver for Puerto Rico. Melanie Zanona has more here.

ON TAP FOR THURSDAY

The House Judiciary Subcommittee on Regulatory Reform, Commercial and Antitrust Law is holding a hearing on the Congressional Review Act at 9:30 a.m.

The Senate Banking Committee holds a hearing on evaluating sanctions enforcement on North Korea at 9:30 a.m.

A Senate Commerce subcommittee holds a hearing on reforming the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to improve aviation security at 10 a.m.

REG ROUNDUP

Administration: President Trump plans to give a speech at the White House next week on his efforts to roll back federal regulations, The Hill’s Lydia Wheeler reports.

“The President will be making remarks in the morning highlighting his administration’s efforts to eliminate excessive, job-killing regulations to an audience of about 250-300 regulatory experts from think tanks, industry groups, universities, companies, and state governments,” a White House official said.

During the campaign, Trump claimed that as many as 70 percent of regulations could go and issued an executive order when he took office directing federal agencies to eliminate two rules for every new one proposed.

Following his speech scheduled for Monday, a White House official said 10 agencies will hold break-out sessions with some of the groups in attendance and talk about “how they can make regulation smarter, more efficient and less burdensome on our economy.”

Read Lydia’s story here.

Environment: Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh (D) sued the Trump administration Wednesday to force it to take action against out-of-state power plants for their air pollution.

Frosh contends in his lawsuit that the Clean Air Act obligates Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) head Scott Pruitt to require plants in five states to use air pollution controls.

But the EPA hasn’t formally responded to Maryland’s November 2016 petition on the matter, nor its July threat to sue the EPA for missing the deadline to respond.

“Emissions from power plants in surrounding states pollute Maryland’s air and violate the law,” Frosh said in a statement.

Timothy Cama has more here.

Tech: The Senate voted Wednesday to confirm President Trump’s pick to lead the Justice Department’s antitrust division, a vote that comes as the department considers the AT&T-Time Warner merger worth $85.4 billion.

Makan Delrahim, who previously worked in Trump’s White House counsel office, was cleared with a 73-21 vote.

Delrahim will be tasked with spearheading the administration’s antitrust agenda at a time when the issue is becoming increasingly prominent. Across the board, industries are considering increased consolidation amid rumors of mega-mergers.

Harper Neidig has the story here.

Environment: Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) on Wednesday said he plans to vote against confirming President Trump’s nominee to head the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA).

In his statement, Manchin recalled the numerous miner deaths in West Virginia, including 12 so far this year.

Trump tapped David Zatezalo for the job earlier this month. Zatezalo is a retired former executive of Rhino Resources, which had frequent run-ins with MSHA for alleged safety violations during his tenure.

“After reviewing his qualifications and record of safety during his time in the coal industry, I am not convinced that Mr. Zatezalo is suited to oversee the federal agency that implements and enforces mine safety laws and standards.”

Manchin has been more supportive of Trump’s policies and executive branch nominees than almost any other Democrat, having voted to confirm officials like Attorney General Jeff Sessions, Environmental Protection Agency head Scott Pruitt and others that got almost no support outside of the GOP.

Timothy Cama has the story here.

Health care: President Trump on Wednesday said he is considering an executive order to allow health insurance to be purchased across state lines.

Trump told reporters at the White House that he plans to issue a “very major” executive order, probably next week, “where people can go out across state lines, do lots of things, and buy their own health care.”

Trump said the order is “being finished now. It’s going to cover a lot of territory and a lot of people — millions of people.”

Selling insurance across state lines is an idea Republicans have long backed. They say competition will help drive down prices.

Experts said it’s not clear what an executive order on selling insurance plans across state lines would do.

Under ObamaCare, states are already allowed to let insurers sell plans outside their borders. No states have chosen to do so.

Read more here.

Environment: Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt used both private and military aircraft for official travel over the summer.

The EPA confirmed that Pruitt made one round-trip flight on a private plane and two trips on a government plane, CNN reported Wednesday.

The revelation that Pruitt used government and private planes for official government travel comes as other Trump administration officials, including Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, face scrutiny for flights using military or private aircraft.

Max Greenwood has more here.

Tech: Democratic FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel says her agency needs to do more to help restore phone service in areas affected by the recent string of devastating hurricanes.

“After Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Sandy @FCC held hearings to address network recovery. Why won’t agency do it for Harvey, Irma & Maria?” she tweeted Tuesday.

“These are people struggling to make phone calls in the United States. @FCC must study networks in disaster. Stat.”

Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria have taken down cell and cable service in Texas, Florida and Puerto Rico over the last month.

Critics say the agency is responding slower than to previous hurricanes and are laying the blame on Republican Chairman Ajit Pai.

In 2012, the FCC announced that it would hold agency hearings within weeks of Superstorm Sandy, which battered the Northeast.

Ali Breland has more here.

ELSEWHERE IN THE NEWS:

Uber is leaving Quebec after tough new rules passed (The Verge)

Uber hunting for a new UK head amid regulatory battles (Fortune)

Europe’s telecom groups warn over regulation (Financial Times)

The Jones Act, the obscure 1920 shipping regulation strangling Puerto Rico, explained (Vox)

FBI, SEC look into country’s largest ‘green’ lender (The Wall Street Journal)

Meet the man behind the FDA’s nicotine fix (The Wall Street Journal)