Claiming Control: Trump's Order to Subordinate Independent Agencies

On February 18, 2025, President Trump signed an executive order titled "Ensuring Accountability for All Agencies," requiring independent regulators such as the SEC, FTC, and FCC to submit draft regulations for White House review and to align their priorities with presidential guidance. The order carved out an exception only for the Federal Reserve's monetary policy functions.

The administration framed the order as restoring democratic accountability, arguing that agencies exercising major regulatory power should answer to an elected president rather than operate with insulation from oversight. Critics, including legal scholars and advocacy groups such as Public Citizen, called it a constitutionally aggressive move that undermines a decades-old structure designed to keep certain regulatory decisions insulated from short-term political pressure.

The order relies on a broad reading of Article II executive power that past presidents, dating to the Reagan administration, considered but did not adopt. Legal challenges were expected, and its ultimate effect on agencies like the SEC and FTC depends on how courts resolve those disputes.