WASHINGTON — President Biden is set to freeze a spate of last-minute Trump administration regulations — including, most likely, a change to the FDA’s authority over medical devices and a tweak to certain Medicare drug coverage rules issued only Tuesday.
Biden’s chief of staff Ron Klain issued a “regulatory freeze memo” Wednesday. The memo directs all agencies to consult with the White House before moving forward with implementing any so-called midnight guidances or regulations, a term that typically refers to policies unveiled during the final months of an administration. The freeze will apply to all regulations and guidances that either haven’t been published in the Federal Register or haven’t yet been enacted.
It’s customary for an incoming administration to issue a regulatory freeze — both Trump and Obama did too — but the Biden freeze will be much more impactful because the Trump administration spent the last several weeks releasing scores of controversial policies.
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