Banking and Finance Law Daily Wrap Up, OVERSIGHT AND INVESTIGATION—Executive Order extends presidential oversight over agencies, (Feb 19, 2025)

By Joe Cox, J.D.

The White House praised the order as ensuring accountability while critics charge that it undermines agency independence.

President Donald J. Trump has signed an Executive Order extending the reach of his oversight and that of his Office of Management and Budget (OMB) director, Russ Vought. As the White House praised the action as ensuring accountability and restoring transparency to agency oversight, critics charged that the order undermines agency independence and helps consolidate governmental power further.

Executive Order. The order opens by noting that the President has all executive power, but that Congress provides for subordinate officers to assist in executive duties. The order criticizes other Presidential administrations as allowing independent regulatory agencies to operate with minimal Presidential supervision, including promulgating regulations without Presidential review.

Accordingly, the Order purports to ensure Presidential control and supervision of the entire executive branch. All executive departments and agencies are to submit all proposed and final significant regulatory actions to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs before publication in the Federal Register. Additionally, the OMB will provide guidance on the order as well as adjusting agencies' funding, including prohibiting appropriations on particular activities or projects.

Notably, Section 7 of the Order states, "The President and the Attorney General, subject to the President’s supervision and control, shall provide authoritative interpretations of law for the executive branch. The President and the Attorney General’s opinions on questions of law are controlling on all employees in the conduct of their official duties. No employee of the executive branch acting in their official capacity may advance an interpretation of the law as the position of the United States that contravenes the President or the Attorney General’s opinion on a matter of law, including but not limited to the issuance of regulations, guidance, and positions advanced in litigation, unless authorized to do so by the President or in writing by the Attorney General."

The accompanying notes released by the White House praise Section 7 as allowing the President and Attorney General to "interpret the law for the executive branch, instead of having separate agencies adopt conflicting interpretations." The sheet further states that agencies like the FTC, FCC, and SEC "will no longer impose rules on the American people without oversight or accountability."

Criticism. Critics immediately voiced strident opposition to the Order. Public Citizen co-president Robert Weissman issued a statement terming the Order as "[a] giant gift to the corporate class and a Trumpian power grab."

Weissman's comments charge that the Order "is a profoundly dangerous idea for the nation’s health, safety, environment and economy – and for our democracy. Congress made independent agencies independent of the White House for good reason."

The statement argues that independent agencies "would become dependent… on the whims of Trump, Vought and their corporate buddies." Weissman noted that the FTC and SEC were significant targets of the Order and that each currently has ongoing investigations or enforcement actions against businesses owned by DOGE leader Elon Musk.

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