On Monday morning, President Donald Trump signed yet another executive order, following the 17 wide-ranging executive actions enacted during his first week in office. This latest order tackles yet another one of Trump’s campaign talking points and will require federal agencies to cut two existing regulations for every new regulation they implement.
“If there’s a new regulation, they have to knock out two. But it goes far beyond that, we’re cutting regulations massively for small business and for large business,” Trump said during the signing of the order, while surrounded by small-business leaders. He stressed that the new measure is meant to ease the opening and expansion of small businesses, and said that America’s small businesses “have been treated very badly” and that it was “virtually impossible to expand your existing business because of regulations.”
Trump has long stated that overregulation is hampering America’s economic growth, and plans for decreasing regulation got top billing in his 100-day action plan, released in November. In past remarks, Trump has targeted specific regulations which he believes are hampering job growth, including the Waters of the U.S. Rule (which protects rivers and wetlands) and the EPA’s Clean Power Plan—which limits carbon pollution from power plants and is currently on hold under a Supreme Court stay.