Judge Rejects Trump Bid to Stay Proceedings On 2-For-1 Order

A lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s order that agencies eliminate two existing regulations for each new one will go forward despite the U.S. Justice Department’s effort to end it quickly on procedural grounds.

On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Randolph Moss in Washington denied the government’s request that he freeze the action on the plaintiffs’ motion to dismiss the case. The Justice Department had urged Judge Moss to rule first on the government’s motion to dismiss the case because the challengers, who include labor and environment advocates, don’t have standing to bring a case in the first place and that their claims are premature.

The requirements of the Administrative Procedure Act and various federal statutes could impose hurdles to the Trump administration’s goal of repealing or revising the prior administration’s major regulatory initiatives. Tuesday’s order from Judge Moss is another regulatory setback for the Trump administration.