Trump Administration Issues Two Executive Orders Affecting Agency Regulations and Workforce

Ten-for-One Federal Regulations Order 

This executive order is part of the Trump Administration’s policy to promote economic growth by reducing the number of federal regulations and the amount of government and personal expenditures associated with promulgating and complying with regulations.¹ The Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is responsible for its implementation.

This order is similar to Executive Order 137110, issued during President Trump’s first Administration, which directed that for every new rule proposed or finalized, an agency must identify at least two existing regulations to be repealed.² The term “regulation” or “rule” is broadly defined in the new order to mean “an agency statement of general or particular applicability and future effect designed to implement, interpret, or prescribe law or policy or to describe the procedure or practice requirements of an agency” and includes, without limitation, “regulations, rules, memoranda, administrative orders, guidance documents, policy statements, and interagency agreements.”  The new order also makes similar exceptions for military, national security, homeland security, foreign affairs, or immigration regulations; regulations related to agency organization, management, or personnel; or any category of regulations exempted by the Director of OMB that impose minimal costs or burdens on the private sector or that are requested to be exempted by the Assistant to the President and Chief of Staff or the Assistant to the President and Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy. In addition, the order explains that it will only apply “to the extent permitted by law” or “as required by law.”  Relevant sections of the order are summarized below.

1. Regulatory Cap for Fiscal Year 2025

For FY 2025, unless prohibited by law, whenever an “executive department or agency publicly proposes for notice and comment or otherwise promulgates a new regulation,” the agency must identify at least ten existing regulations to be repealed.² The order also directs the heads of all agencies to ensure that the total incremental cost of all repealed and new regulations finalized this year will be “significantly less than zero,” unless otherwise required by law or instruction from the Director of OMB.  Finally, any incremental costs associated with new regulations must be offset by the elimination of existing costs associated with at least 10 prior regulations, as permitted by law. 

To implement this section, the Director of OMB must provide agencies with updated guidance explaining (1) how to identify regulations for elimination, (2) what constitutes a “rule” or “regulation” for purposes of this order, (3) processes for estimating and standardizing regulatory costs, (4) how to account for costs in different fiscal years, (5) methods to oversee the issuance of rules with costs offset by savings at different times or in different agencies, (6) examples of emergencies and other circumstances that may justify waiver of these requirements, and (7) methods for ensuring compliance with the Administrative Procedure Act and other applicable laws.  The order instructs the Director of OMB to consider phasing in and updating these requirements. 

2. Annual Regulatory Cost Submissions to OMB

Beginning in FY 2026 and in each subsequent year, for regulations that increase incremental costs, agency heads must identify “on an aggregated basis” the ten cost-offsetting regulations to be eliminated and provide OMB with an approximation of the total costs or savings associated with each new or repealed regulation. 

Further, an agency may not issue a regulation if it was not included in the most recent version or update of its Unified Regulatory Agenda unless approved in advance and in writing by the Director of OMB.  Notably, the order states that no regulation may be added to or removed from the Unified Regulatory Agenda without the OMB Director’s approval, unless otherwise required by law. 

Finally, the Director of OMB is ordered to communicate to agencies the total amount of incremental costs each agency is allowed when issuing and repealing regulations for each fiscal year, beginning FY 2026. Agencies will not be permitted to promulgate any regulations exceeding the agency’s total incremental cost allowance unless required by law or approved in writing by the Director of OMB. 

OMB is directed to issue guidance to agencies on the implementation of these requirements. 

Four-for-One Hiring Ratio Order 

This order is part of the Trump Administration’s policy to decrease the size of the federal workforce and “empower American families, workers, taxpayers, and our system of Government itself.”³  It is broadly applicable to all federal agencies as defined in 44 U.S.C. § 3502, which notably exempts the Government Accountability Office and the Federal Election Commission from the definition of agency.  The executive order lists several other exemptions to the directives in the order, including for military personnel, positions that are “necessary to meet national security, homeland security, or public safety responsibilities,” and any situations in which the Director of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) determines an exemption is “necessary.” 

According to the order, each agency will be instructed to hire no more than one employee for every four employees who depart, consistent with any applicable exemptions.  This ratio does not affect the previous hiring freeze applied to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and does not apply to functions related to public safety, immigration enforcement, or law enforcement. 

Additionally, each agency head will be ordered to collaborate with their assigned DOGE Team Lead to develop a “data-driven plan” to ensure the highest-need areas receive any new hires. Agencies will not be permitted to fill any vacancies for career appointments without DOGE Team approval, unless the Agency head determines the position must be filled. 

Finally, each agency will be required to initiate large-scale reductions in force, consistent with applicable law. Reductions will be prioritized in offices that perform “functions not mandated by statute or other law,” including all agency diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives; all initiatives suspended by the Trump Administration; and all employees who are not deemed essential during a lapse in appropriations. Within 30 days, agency heads must also submit to OMB a report identifying which subcomponents of their agency are statutorily required and which subcomponents could be eliminated or consolidated. 

Implications for FDA and USDA 

Both orders have the potential to slow the pace of agency regulation at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) as the agencies take time to evaluate the orders and work to comply with their provisions.   Reducing the size of the FDA and USDA workforces could lead to reductions in agency initiatives, inspections, and stakeholder engagement, as well as an increase in response time to submissions. 

Like in 2017, the effect of the ten-for-one regulations order in the long term will depend on the government’s interpretation of the scope of the order. For instance, after the issuance of the two-for-one order in 2017, OMB issued an interim guidance explaining, among other things, that the executive order’s directives applied only to “significant regulatory actions” as defined in Executive Order 12866 and did not apply to independent agencies such as the Securities and Exchange Commission.⁴  Guidance from OMB, as well as how the agencies interpret it and the executive order, will determine its impact. 

In the meantime, the ten-for-one order provides an opportunity for industry and other stakeholders to identify FDA and USDA regulations that are outdated or unworkable and propose them for repeal.  

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We will continue to monitor the Trump Administration’s actions and developing policy agenda. Please contact us if you have any questions.