WASHINGTON—Catering to corporate chieftains and right-wing ideologues, GOP President Donald Trump ordered all federal departments and agencies, large and small, to trash rules and regulations, and their enforcement. He used the excuse that doing so would help stimulate the economy to recover from closures due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Trump did not specify which rules should be junked. His dictate had no limits at all. That means agencies could use the “economic recovery” justification to scrap minimum wage and overtime pay rules, job safety and health rules, clean air and water rules, consumer safety rules, civil rights rules, rules to curb shady speculators, curbs on financial finaglers, antitrust rules, and more.
The radical right cheered his executive order, but kept their crowing relatively low-key. One crower: Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., who, as former chair of the House Education and the Workforce Committee, questioned the need for—and the legality of—labor unions.
“Now, more than ever, we need to create an environment that provides relief and support for our nation’s businesses and job creators. Red tape, over-zealous enforcement, and burdensome regulations aren’t the answer,” Foxx declared on May 20.
Brad Close, president of the so-called National Federation of Independent Business—another key piece of the radical right—called Trump’s edict “welcome news for small business owners trying to navigate the various regulations, laws, and guidelines…. The administration has acted swiftly to provide regulatory relief and protect our nation’s small businesses.”
And the radical right Heritage Foundation, in a report and recommendations to the Trump regime in mid-May, advocated, among other schemes, “review all regulations that have been waived or modified in response to COVID-19 and consider permanent changes,” using the official name for the coronavirus....
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