The order isn't about "modernizing" regulations, contends the editorial board of Issue & Insights, it's "about unleashing the regulatory state with a ferocity never before seen in this country." Released late in the evening of his first day in office, Jan. 20, the order signals Biden's intent to eliminate the cost-benefit analysis that, the editors point out, "for many decades has served as at least a modest brake on the ambitions of regulators." Biden, instead, wants the review process to be "a tool to affirmatively promote regulations" and "to ensure swift and effective federal action" on everything from the pandemic to the economy, racial inequality and the "undeniable reality and accelerating threat of climate change."
