Democrats try again to reestablish legal deference to agencies on regulations

Congressional Democrats on Wednesday brought back legislation to respond to President Donald Trump’s deregulatory agenda and reduce the influence of private companies in the rulemaking process.

The Experts Protect Effective Rules, Transparency and Stability (EXPERTS) Act (H.R. 6145) would codify the “Chevron deference,” a decades-old precedent the Supreme Court overturned in 2024 that directed judges to defer to federal agencies when interpreting ambiguous provisions of law. It also would:

• Exclude private companies from negotiated rulemaking, a process agencies sometimes use to convene stakeholders when developing proposed rules to increase buy-in. 
• Establish a six-year statute of limitation to bring a lawsuit against an agency rulemaking. 
• Create an Office of the Public Advocate to promote public participation in the rulemaking process.  

“Many Americans are taught in civics classes that Congress passes a law and that’s it, but the reality is that any major legislation enacted must also be implemented and enforced by the executive branch to become a reality,” said Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., the sponsor of the House version of the bill, in a statement. “We are seeing the Trump administration dismantle systems created to ensure that federal regulation prioritizes public safety. At a time when corporations and CEOs have outsized power, it is critical that we ensure that public interest is protected.”

The House version of the legislation has 69 cosponsors, all Democratic. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., introduced the Senate companion, which has a dozen cosponsors that are similarly all Democrats. Both chambers are currently controlled by Republicans.

Jayapal and Warren in the previous congress introduced identical legislation that did not receive any legislative action. 

“The bill is a comprehensive blueprint for modernizing, improving and strengthening the regulatory system to better protect the public,” said Rachel Weintraub — executive director of the Coalition for Sensible Safeguards, an alliance of more than 220 labor, research and public interest groups — in a statement. “The EXPERTS Act would enhance our government’s ability to deliver results for workers, consumers, public health and our environment. And it would increase participation so that people — not just big corporations — can weigh in on potential rules that affect them.” 

Trump has argued that regulations are unnecessarily impeding the private sector and has ordered agencies to utilize legally untested processes to speed up their repeal, including waiving notice and comment requirements on rules that are deemed unconstitutional or unlawful in light of recent Supreme Court rulings, such as the one that overturned the “Chevron deference.”