By Embracing a Methodical Process, DOGE Can Master the Right Way to Rein in Government Overreach

ARLINGTON, VA— James Valvo, Chief Policy Counsel of Americans for Prosperity Foundation, discussed in Real Clear Policy how two recent Supreme Court decisions have opened doors to limiting government overreach and could inform Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy in their efforts to overhaul inefficiencies through the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

Valvo suggests a methodical approach – laying out six steps for Congress and the administration to start taking immediately to identify, assess, and rescind or eliminate outdated and unnecessary regulations.

From the op-ed:

1. President Trump should immediately direct all federal agencies to review existing rules to determine which ones are beyond their statutory authority after West Virginia and Loper Bright. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise sent oversight letters to scores of agencies in July directing them to begin this task.
2. Each agency should make a list of such rules and send it to the White House for review and approval.
3. Each agency should then send the White House-approved list to Congress and tell it that the rules are unlawful and that the agency will immediately begin the APA recession process. In doing so, the Trump administration would be answering the Scalise letters and recognizing Congress’ important role in this process.
4. If Congress believes some of the rules are necessary and within their design of the authorizing statute, then Congress should codify the rule. This aspect of the plan takes its inspiration from the REINS Act.
5. Agencies should then immediately begin individualized 30-day notice-and-comment rulemakings to rescind the unlawful regulations. The notices beginning those rulemakings must contain a meaningful legal argument about why the existing rule is beyond the agency’s statutory ambit.
6. Agencies should also announce that they will exercise a measure of prosecutorial discretion regarding unlawful rules while this process is ongoing.  Non-enforcement based on illegality is a sounder footing for prosecutorial discretion than other uses of the power.

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