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Trump orders federal agencies — including FMCSA — to ‘freeze’ pending regulations

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In one of the first moves of his second term, President Donald Trump has ordered federal agencies to halt all rulemaking activity pending White House review.

On January 20, 2025, Trump issued the Regulatory Freeze Pending Review order, forbidding any agencies from sending a rule to be published in the Federal Register without the rule being reviewed and approved by the new White House.

The order additionally requires agencies to immediately withdraw any rule that has been submitted to the Office of the Federal Register but has not yet been published in the Federal Register.

Agencies are also advised to “consider postponing for 60 days from the date of this memorandum the effective date for any rules that have been published in the Federal Register, or any rules that have been issued in any manner but have not taken effect, for the purpose of reviewing any questions of fact, law, and policy that the rules may raise.”

The regulatory freeze order will put the brakes on any immediate action from all federal agencies, including the U.S. Department of Transportation and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA).

A few of the most impactful rules that the FMCSA worked to advance during the Biden administration were the Heavy Vehicle Speed Limiters rule, the Heavy Vehicle Automatic Emergency Braking rule, and a broker transparency rule. With the new Trump administration in place, it is unclear whether these rules could advance, but the President’s first term showed that he has a strong tendency towards the deregulation of federal agencies.

The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) and other trade groups recently penned a letter asking Trump to put a stop to any speed limiter rule for commercial trucks.

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