Tag

#deregulation

The removal of regulations designed to protect public health, safety, the environment, and consumer rights. Incidents involve rollbacks of regulatory protections that lead to measurable harm to the public.

5 incidents

Updated March 25, 2026 Federal Dismantlement
Serious Rights Violation Ongoing

Systematic Destruction of Environmental Protections — Paris Agreement, UNFCCC, and Endangerment Finding

An unprecedented withdrawal from the Paris Agreement, UNFCCC, and IPCC, combined with the rescission of the endangerment finding and rollback of 31+ environmental rules, constitutes the most comprehensive destruction of environmental protections in US history. The actions remove the world's largest historical emitter from the international climate framework while eliminating domestic regulation of greenhouse gases.

Sources
8
Paris AgreementUNFCCCIPCCclimate changeEPA
Updated March 26, 2026 Federal Dismantlement
Serious Rights Violation Ongoing

OSHA Workplace Safety Dismantlement: 60+ Rules Rolled Back and 223 Inspectors Eliminated

A systematic dismantlement of OSHA's regulatory and enforcement capacity through mass deregulation, inspector cuts, and penalty reductions that experts warn will lead to preventable worker deaths across construction, manufacturing, and agricultural sectors.

Sources
8
OSHAworkplace safetyderegulationfederal dismantlementworker deaths
Updated August 10, 2020 Civil Rights
Major Abuse of Power

Betsy DeVos: Rollback of Student Borrower Protections, For-Profit College Deregulation

DeVos, a billionaire Michigan donor with ties to the for-profit education industry through her family's investment portfolio, was confirmed in February 2017 in a 50-50 Senate vote — the first cabinet confirmation requiring Vice President Pence's tiebreaking vote in history. She immediately moved to suspend the Obama administration's Borrower Defense to Repayment rules, which provided a path for students defrauded by schools to have their federal loans discharged. More than 100,000 borrower defense applications accumulated while DeVos's department delayed processing them. Courts found the delays violated federal law. She also rescinded the Gainful Employment rule that required for-profit programs to demonstrate graduates could earn enough to service their student debt.

Sources
4
DeVoseducationfirst-termcivil-rightsfor-profit-colleges
Updated July 5, 2018 Corruption & Self-Dealing
Major Abuse of Power

Scott Pruitt: EPA Corruption, Tactical Security Detail, and Regulatory Rollbacks

Pruitt's tenure combined serious corruption with aggressive deregulation — two goals that reinforced each other. His 24/7 security detail, which EPA Inspector General reports found was not justified by credible threats, cost taxpayers approximately $3.5 million in his 17 months at the agency. He flew first-class on domestic flights, claiming security concerns, while his own security detail said coach was adequate. He rented a condo from the wife of a lobbyist — at $50/night — while her clients' matters were pending before the EPA. He granted unprecedented raises to two staff members through CAA authority after the White House had denied the raises. He was ultimately undone by the accumulation of scandal but had already implemented dozens of deregulatory actions.

Sources
4
PruittEPAcorruptionfirst-termenvironment
Updated December 1, 2020 Rule of Law
Critical Rights and Rule-of-Law Concern

Environmental Deregulation: 100+ Rules Rolled Back Across Four Years

The administration's approach was systematic: identify Obama-era environmental regulations, determine legal and administrative mechanisms for reversal, and implement reversals. The rollbacks covered air quality, water quality, climate, wildlife, and chemical safety. The vehicle emissions standards rollback was estimated to add approximately one billion tons of additional carbon dioxide to the atmosphere by 2035. Courts overturned many of the rollbacks, finding procedural defects. The Biden administration reversed the majority of the remaining reversals. The cumulative effect on environmental law precedent and the transition costs of the repeated changes were lasting.

Sources
4
environmentderegulationclimateEPAfirst-term