Independent Agencies Independence Curtailed

Policy and legal decisions at CPSC and other regulatory agencies are under more direct White House control via a February 17 executive order. The directive (bit.ly/41wCGA9) contains provisions aimed at both dictating decisions and forbidding any outside the administration's control. This includes asserting "ongoing" oversight of agencies' allocation of resources although there is a "consistent with law" exception.

It demands OMB clearance of strategic plans. Each agency must create a "White House Liaison." Agency heads must "regularly consult with and coordinate policies and priorities with the directors of OMB, the White House Domestic Policy Council, and the White House National Economic Council.?" It sets out "rules of conduct" described as:

"The President and the Attorney General, subject to the President's supervision and control, shall provide authoritative interpretations of law for the executive branch. The President and the Attorney General's opinions on questions of law are controlling on all employees in the conduct of their official duties. No employee of the executive branch acting in their official Capacity may advance an interpretation of the law as the position of the United States that contravenes the President or the Attorney General's opinion on a matter of law, including but not limited to the issuance of regulations, guidance, and positions advanced in litigation, unless authorized to do so by the President or in writing by the Attorney General."

The order uses the phrase "so-called independent agencies" twice. It follows a week after the Solicitor General wrote that the administration wants to see the Supreme Court overturn laws limiting presidents' ability to fire heads of such agencies without cause (PSL, 2/17/25).

It is unclear if the strategic plan directive applies to those approved in the past but that reach into the future. CPSC's current plan (bit.ly/3QufGeo) runs to 2026. Either way, CPSC's plan could be changed in the relatively near future as it contains diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) items subject to the executive order on that matter. It is a document voted on by the commission, and Acting Chairman Peter Feldman indicated that changing it would involve such a vote and that he had directed staff to prepare revision briefing packages for consideration (PSL, 2/3/25).