In a historic restructuring of the executive branch, President Donald Trump has signed an executive order placing so-called “independent” regulatory agencies under direct White House control. The order, titled Ensuring Accountability for All Agencies – The White House, declares that executive power must be supervised by the democratically elected president, rather than left in the hands of unelected bureaucrats.
“For the Federal Government to be truly accountable to the American people, officials who wield vast executive power must be supervised and controlled by the people’s elected President,” the order states. The move directly impacts federal agencies such as the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which have long operated without direct White House oversight.
A senior White House official, speaking on background, described the executive order as a necessary step to rein in “rogue agencies” that have overstepped their authority. “These agencies issue rules and regulations that cost billions of dollars and implicate some of the most controversial policy matters, and they do so without the review of the democratically elected President,” the official said. The order aims to prevent regulatory bodies from enacting costly and burdensome policies without presidential approval.
One of the key provisions of the order mandates that all executive agencies, including previously independent ones, must submit significant regulatory actions for review by the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) before publication. This ensures that no agency can implement sweeping policy changes without White House approval.
The order also establishes a new system of direct oversight by placing a White House liaison in every independent agency. These liaisons, classified as Schedule C appointees, will serve as the administration’s eyes and ears within agencies that have previously operated with considerable autonomy.
A particularly significant aspect of the order is its impact on legal interpretation. Under the new directive, the president and the attorney general will provide the authoritative interpretation of the law for the executive branch. No agency will be permitted to advance its own legal interpretations without explicit authorization from the White House or the attorney general. This provision directly targets agencies like the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which has historically expanded its regulatory power through broad interpretations of existing laws.
