Trump-Musk Deregulatory Executive Order Greenlights a Corporate Crime Spree
WASHINGTON, D.C. – President Donald Trump issued an executive order late Wednesday calling on agencies to list regulations to rescind. Robert Weissman, co-president of Public Citizen, released the following statement.
“The Trump-Musk administration’s deregulatory executive order (EO) is a flat-out gift to Big Business, including to Elon Musk himself. The EO promises to roll back rules across the government. These are the rules that constrain corporate wrongdoing, which is exactly why Trump and Musk aim to undo them.
“They help keep our air clean to breathe, our water safe to drink, our food safe to eat, and our workplaces safer to operate in. They prevent bank ripoffs, deceptive advertising and junk fees. They fight monopolies and promote economic competition. They prevent wage theft, establish workers’ right to unionize, and promote economic fairness.
“Notably, the EO also directs the agencies to not enforce laws against corporate wrongdoing. This is an invitation to a corporate crime spree and an epidemic of corporate abuses.
“First, the regulatory protections on the books don’t just make our country safer and stronger, they make it richer. Our government measures major new rules for their effect on the economy – and doesn’t adopt them unless the overall impact is positive. Second, regulatory protections have demonstrably improved the quality of life in America, and generated enormous savings for consumers and taxpayers. Third, the counterfactual illustrates the crucial role of regulatory protections: weakened rules and inadequate enforcement have led to financial, environmental, and other catastrophes that have imposed staggering costs on society.
“This EO has nothing to do with efficiency. It will make the country far more inefficient. It is, instead, a payback to the wealthy donor class and an assurance that corporate abuses will now be tolerated.
“An actual ‘Department of Government Efficiency’ would recognize that the regulatory process is working – except that it should be made stronger and more aggressive.
“The EO is not some small move about purported red tape. Combined with the other destructive moves of the Trump-Musk administration, it is also making it far, far more likely that the country will experience preventable health, environmental, and economic disasters.”