Biden's final sprint as Trump's rollback of his agenda looms
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Illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios
The Biden camp is scrambling to finalize new business regulations, including rules affecting ticket sellers, automakers and banks.
Why it matters: With barely over a month to go before leaving office, the administration is aiming to follow through on a litany of policy promises.
The latest: A rule banning junk fees was finalized Tuesday after a 4-1 vote by the FTC.
- A rule finalized Monday by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration requires automakers to implement a new back-seat seat belt warning system by September 2027, and to strengthen front-seat warnings.
- And the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau last week finalized a new rule capping overdraft fees at large banks.
And don't chalk this up to procrastination. Through October 2024 — meaning before this lame-duck session of rules — the Biden administration had published 292 "economically significant" rules, according to George Washington University's Regulatory Studies Center.
What we're watching: That's a large number facing the incoming Trump administration, which has promised to roll back many of the rules implemented over the last four years.
- And Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy — co-leaders of Trump's informal Department of Government Efficiency advisory — have said they plan to nullify "thousands" of federal regulations, Axios Markets co-author Emily Peck has noted.
Yes, but: Some of the new rules are popular.
- For example, Tuesday's junk fees ban — which forces companies to disclose previously hidden fees upfront when consumers are making purchase decisions — has "overwhelming, bipartisan support," according to pollster Morning Consult.
The bottom line: Once new rules are finalized, it becomes politically complicated to reverse them — but that doesn't mean the Trump administration won't try.
