Federal judge allows DHS to access citizenship data to screen voter rolls, Trump Administration announces intention to undo 702 federal rules, and more…
IN THE NEWS:
A federal judge ordered the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to restore state government access to federal citizenship data for screening voter rolls in Florida, Ohio, Iowa, and Indiana. Judge T. Kent Wetherell II of the District Court for the Northern District of Florida cited a legal settlement reached last year between the Trump Administration and Florida officials, which required DHS to collaborate with the state on enhancing a federal citizenship database. This decision conflicts with an earlier federal court decision that blocked access to the use of the database for voter screening.
The Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) announced an extensive deregulatory agenda aimed at eliminating 702 federal rules by the end of the 2026 fiscal year. This initiative, described as the Trump Administration’s most significant rollback effort to date, seeks to “promote liberty, unleash American energy dominance, preserve products consumers love, and eradicate the ideology of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.” OIRA has already claimed to have achieved $211.8 billion in cost savings for fiscal year 2025, framing this new proposal as a continuation of its broader strategy to dismantle regulatory barriers. Critics argue that rolling back these rules will have adverse impacts on public health and the environment.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) proposed regulations that would require firearm applicants under the Gun Control Act and National Firearms Act to submit only a photocopy of an identification card and one fingerprint card when purchasing firearms. The rule would also eliminate the automatic fingerprint requirements for responsible persons—those who hold managerial or policymaking power—of trusts, LLCs, and corporations applying under the National Firearms Act. Responsible persons under the National Firearms Act would instead submit fingerprints only when ATF or the Federal Bureau of Investigation determines that fingerprint submission is necessary to complete a background check. These changes could make it easier for people to obtain licenses to purchase, import, make, or transfer firearms.
The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System proposed a rule that would require banks it supervises to maintain programs to detect and reduce the risk of money laundering and terrorist financing. The proposal would require banks to assess regularly their risks of money laundering and terrorist financing, devote more resources to higher-risk customers and activities, and update their programs as those risks change. The Board said that the proposal would align its regulations with those proposed by the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network and other federal banking regulators and strengthen efforts to detect illegal financial transactions.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) proposed a rule clarifying that federal aviation regulations override state meal and rest break requirements for airline pilots and flight attendants. The proposal followed recent litigation over whether state meal and rest break laws apply to flight attendants. The FAA argued that requiring airlines to follow different state laws could interfere with flight crews’ safety responsibilities, disrupt airline operations, force airlines to staff flights with additional flight attendants, and reserve passenger seats for relief crew.
A federal judge issued an order quashing a Department of Justice subpoena seeking the names and personal information of Fulton County’s 2020 election workers. The subpoena comes as part of the Trump Administration’s efforts to investigate claims of election fraud. Judge William M. Ray II of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia described the information sought in the subpoena as “staggering.” He also stated that the statute of limitations for prosecuting potential crimes related to the 2020 election had expired and questioned the Justice Department’s need for the requested information.
Illinois enacted the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Safety Measures Act, which mandates increased disclosure and safety standards for companies developing AI models. In a press release, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker highlighted the act’s accountability mechanisms, including whistleblower protections for employees reporting safety concerns and independent auditing programs. The press release also emphasized that the policy’s purpose is not to stifle innovation but to protect consumers. Anthropic and other industry leaders endorsed the legislation.
The U.S. Department of Transportation extended its policy of not enforcing a rule requiring airlines to refund fares for flights that are assigned new flight numbers, but otherwise operate without significant changes or delays, for one year. Prior to 2024, assigning a flight a new flight number was considered a cancellation that entitled passengers to a refund. The Transportation Department explained that airlines renumber flights for operational reasons that do not affect passengers and that enforcing the refund rule could create unnecessary burdens for airlines while the agency reviews its regulations. Passengers can still receive a refund if a renumbered flight was also significantly delayed or otherwise substantially changed.
WHAT WE’RE READING:
In a recent report, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) assessed the efficacy of government efforts to rebuild and bolster Puerto Rico’s electric grid. Since 2017, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the Department of Energy have obligated over $14 billion collectively for grid recovery and modernization in Puerto Rico. Spending and deployment estimates, however, indicate that only slightly more than $3 billion has been disbursed. Moreover, many restoration projects remain in early stages, with FEMA completing roughly 2.5 percent of planned vegetation-clearing projects. In addition, the Energy Department rescinded or repurposed approximately 76 percent of its funds, halting deployment of residential solar projects intended to boost grid stability in low-income communities.
In a Brookings Institution report, Glencora Haskin, a senior research associate in Brookings Metro, argued that childcare has become a significant factor driving household affordability stress across the United States. Haskin highlighted that over 4 million families with young children face financial instability due to soaring childcare costs. Haskin emphasized that the greatest challenges are found in high-cost coastal states such as California and New York, as well as in economically distressed areas such as West Virginia. She argued that no state currently meets the federal benchmark for affordable childcare. Haskin proposed that capping childcare costs through a universal sliding-scale subsidy, instead of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ current 7% cap on childcare expenses, could enable approximately 3.7 million more families to achieve financial stability.
In a recent Center for American Progress (CAP) report, Paige Shoemaker DeMio, a senior policy analyst in CAP’s K-12 Education Policy Team, Mimla Wardak, a research associate in CAP’s Economic Policy Team, and Evan Yi, a former CAP intern, argued that a mega tax and spending law threatens millions of students’ access to free school meals. Shoemaker DeMio, Wardak, and Yi explained that cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and Medicaid could reduce students’ eligibility for free school meals and cause some schools to lose their ability to provide free meals to all students through the Community Eligibility Provision. They estimated that losing access to free school meals could cost a typical family with two children an additional $1,890 each year for meals offered by the school or more than $2,214 each year for packed lunches. The authors concluded that states could reduce these effects by maintaining universal free school meal programs, simplifying access to free school meals for income-eligible students, and strengthening partnerships with local farmers and community organizations.
EDITOR’S CHOICE:
In an essay in The Regulatory Review, Jennifer Danis and Jack Jones of the Institute for Policy Integrity at New York University School of Law argued that the Energy Department’s effort to extend coal plant operation timelines exceeded the agency’s statutory authority and did not address the agency’s reliability concerns or electricity shortages. Danis and Jones maintained that the Energy Department’s emergency orders infringed on states’ rights and violated the Federal Power Act, which grants states regulatory authority over electricity-generating facilities. They described multiple instances in which the Energy Department ordered coal plants to continue operating after public utility commissions, grid operators, and plant owners agreed to retire them. Danis and Jones warned that these orders could set a harmful precedent, subjecting power companies to regulatory fluctuations between presidential administrations, and forcing consumers to pay higher prices for inefficient energy resources.
