Market Update

Washington Commentary - Executive actions: A pen and a phone? It’s a bit more complicated

Washington Commentary - Executive actions: A pen and a phone? It’s a bit more complicated

When discussing the tools at a president’s disposal, former President Barack Obama famously said, “I’ve got a pen, and I’ve got a phone,” alluding to his powers to drive change with zero or minimal involvement from Congress.

President Joe Biden has been in office for less than a month and it’s clear he learned something in his old gig: that whole “pen and a phone” concept is more complicated than it sounds, leaving the president with four tools to force action:

  1. Regulatory freeze
  2. Reform via executive order
  3. Rejection via congressional review act
  4. Reform via agency rulemaking

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