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Donald Trump, in his first weeks in office, signs an executive order requiring that for every new federal regulation implemented, two must be rescinded. Photo: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg News
Jan. 17, 2018 7:00 a.m. ET

The Trump administration in its first year has pushed for deregulation across industries. The effort has included high-profile actions, such as reversing Obama-era rules on internet traffic and power-plant emissions. But there have been hundreds of narrower steps as well, and in some cases the Republican Congress has reversed the previous administration’s actions. The deregulatory moves are in various states of completion—some are done, some are proposed, and some proposals are still in the works. Here is a sampling of the major changes.

Technology / Telecommunications

NET NEUTRALITY: The Federal Communications Commission rolled back Obama-era rules requiring internet-service providers to treat all traffic on their networks equally.

PRIVACY: Congress repealed an Obama-era FCC rule that would have required internet providers to get users’ permission to use their data for some commercial purposes.

MEDIA OWNERSHIP: The FCC voted to reverse or revise several rules that restricted ownership of local media outlets, particularly TV stations.

TV AUDIENCE CAP: The FCC agreed to consider raising or eliminating the national audience cap for TV station groups, currently set at 39%.


CLEAN POWER PLAN: The Environmental Protection Agency withdrew an Obama-era rule requiring reduced carbon emissions from coal-burning power plants, and plans to replace it with a less-stringent one.

METHANE EMISSIONS: The Interior Department attempted to delay indefinitely a rule that set stricter standards on oil and gas wells’ emissions of methane gas, a contributor to climate change. After a California court ruled against the effort, the department issued a rule delaying certain requirements, such as those for the way gas is captured and measured.

OFFSHORE DRILLING WELL CONTROL: The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement is expected to relax safety rules adopted after the 2010 Deepwater Horizon accident, including striking a provision requiring that third-party inspectors of critical equipment be certified by the agency.

HYDRAULIC FRACTURING OF FEDERAL LANDS: The Interior Department withdrew a 2015 rule that required disclosure of chemicals and other details of fracking operations on federal lands.

From the moment he was inaugurated, President Trump brought dramatic change to the White House. Here’s a recap of the whirlwind year in Washington. Photo Illustration: Heather Seidel/The Wall Street Journal


WATERS OF THE U.S.: President Donald Trumpasked the EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers in February to propose a rule to replace one issued under the Obama administration to clarify which waterways are protected by the Clean Water Act. The Obama-era rule classified tributaries as protected. The rule was challenged in court and Mr. Trump said the new rule should apply to “navigable waters” as outlined in a 2006 Supreme Court opinion by Justice Antonin Scalia.

ENDANGERED SPECIES: The Fish and Wildlife Service withdrew more than 20 designations of critical habitat for endangered and threatened wildlife and plants, including one that would prevent drilling in key habitat of a Western bird called the greater sage grouse. In the case of the sage grouse, a new voluntary standard has been proposed.


TOXIC SUBSTANCES CONTROL: The EPA narrowed the scope of risk evaluations for a legislatively mandated overhaul of how potentially dangerous chemicals are regulated.

PESTICIDE BAN: The EPA in April overturned a proposed ban on the use of the insecticide chlorpyrifos—which has been shown to cause brain damage in children—on food crops.


WAGE REPORTING: The Office of Management and Budget suspended a rule from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission that would have required wage reporting broken down by ethnicity and gender, saying it was too costly to companies.

OVERTIME PAY: The Labor Department has begun the process of rewriting overtime regulations. The salary level under which most workers are automatically eligible for overtime pay, $23,600 a year, hasn’t been changed since 2004. The Obama administration had sought to increase the level to $47,476 a year, but a federal court in Texas halted the revised rule from going into effect in late 2016. Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta indicated he supports a smaller increase than his predecessor backed.

TIPS: The Labor Department is working to undo an Obama-era rule that prohibited employers from requiring restaurant servers and other workers who receive tips to share that money with nontipped colleagues.

JOINT EMPLOYERS: The National Labor Relations Board overturned an Obama-era ruling and narrowed the definition of when a worker could be considered jointly employed by two firms.


TRANSGENDER BATHROOMS: The education secretary withdrew guidance from the Obama administration that had said schools should allow transgender students to use bathrooms corresponding with their gender identity.

CAMPUS SEXUAL-ASSAULT COMPLAINTS: The education secretary withdrew guidance from the Obama administration that had lowered the minimal standard for proof of sexual assault needed to discipline students.

SCHOOL ACCOUNTABILITY: Congress rescinded a rule that required public schools to establish accountability systems to judge school quality and student success.

STUDENT-LOAN PROTECTIONS: The Education Department withdrew a rule that aimed to forgive student debt for borrowers who alleged they were defrauded by schools, particularly for-profit colleges. A draft proposal released by the Education Department for public discussion would make it tougher for borrowers to qualify for debt forgiveness and would take into account borrowers’ after-school earnings to determine damages.

TRADE SCHOOL ACCOUNTABILITY: The Education Department withdrew rules, known as “gainful employment,” designed to punish colleges that teach trade programs if a large share of their alumni end up with high student-debt burdens relative to their earnings.

Key Moments from Trump’s First Year Banking / Finance

LEVERAGED LOANS: Banking supervisors are reconsidering guidelines that were the basis for a crackdown on so-called leveraged loans to heavily indebted companies.

VOLCKER RULE: Wall Street regulators are drafting changes to the rule that restricts banks from speculative trading unless it is done on their customers’ behalf.

ARBITRATION RULE: Congress reversed a rule completed by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau under Obama-era leadership that would have made it easier for consumers to bring class-action lawsuits against banks by restricting requirements that customers use arbitration to resolve disputes.

BROKERS’ CONFLICTS OF INTEREST: The Securities and Exchange Commission is expected to propose new conflict-of-interest restrictions on stockbrokers advising individual investors, a step toward creating consistent federal standards for all brokerage accounts. The Labor Department, meanwhile, is reconsidering Obama-era rules that applied to retirement accounts.

COMMUNITY REINVESTMENT ACT: Banking supervisors and the Treasury Department are planning to revise decades-old rules that mandate bank lending to poor borrowers.


FARMER FAIR PRACTICE RULE: President Trump froze the implementation of a rule when he took office that said contract poultry and livestock farmers would be able to sue dealers without having to prove that a practice harmed the entire industry; they would just have to show harm to their specific business. The Agriculture Department withdrew the rule in October.

ORGANIC LIVESTOCK AND POULTRY PRACTICES: The Agriculture Department is reconsidering a rule that would have required livestock and poultry labeled as organic to abide by stricter animal-welfare practices.

SCHOOL LUNCHES: The Agriculture Department in May relaxed Obama-era restrictions on school lunches that banned chocolate milk unless it was nonfat and required whole grains and lower salt levels.


BAGGAGE FEES: The Transportation Department has withdrawn a proposed Obama rule that would have required airlines to disclose baggage fees to consumers along with fare and schedule information.


FUEL ECONOMY: The Trump administration in March initiated a new review of Obama-era fuel-economy standards, opening the door to a potential rollback of stringent emissions rules because of low consumer demand for smaller cars and electric vehicles.

Workplace Safety

EXPOSURE TO BERYLLIUM: The Labor Department froze an Obama-era rule that would have tightened standards for workplace exposure to beryllium, a lightweight metal used in manufacturing that is dangerous both if inhaled via dust or fumes, or if it comes in contact with the skin. The department has proposed a replacement that excludes construction and shipyard sectors.


ASSOCIATION HEALTH PLANS: The Trump administration plans to loosen restrictions on health-insurance policies crafted by associations.

SHORT-TERM INSURANCE: President Trump signed an executive order calling for the relaxation of restrictions on short-term insurance plans, which can be cheaper but also less comprehensive. The Obama administration limited those policies to less than three months, with no ability to renew after that time, because of concerns they were siphoning off healthier consumers from the ACA marketplaces.

STATE FUNDING FOR ABORTION PROVIDERS: Congress repealed a rule that prevented states from blocking funding for family-planning clinics that provide abortions.


HOUSING DIVERSITY: The Department of Housing and Urban Development pushed back the deadline for local governments to submit plans to combat housing segregation. HUD Secretary Ben Carson has said he wants to reinterpret the rule.

FLOODPLAIN HOUSING RULES: President Trump withdrew an Obama-era rule that would have required infrastructure projects in floodplains to include extra protection against flooding.

Trump’s First Year

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