Who decides what the law means? If you thought it was Congress or the courts, President Donald Trump wants you to think again.
Trump has signed an executive order declaring that only the president and attorney general have the final authority to interpret U.S. laws, restricting federal agencies from making independent legal determinations.
The order, signed Tuesday, bars agencies such as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) from issuing their own legal interpretations, significantly curbing their regulatory independence.
The sweeping order, signed Tuesday, effectively erases decades of independence for agencies that oversee everything from consumer protections and environmental laws to Wall Street regulations.
The move is part of a series of executive actions, including a memorandum ordering reports on government waste, fraud, and abuse, and another expanding in vitro fertilization (IVF) access. However, legal analysts say this particular order is the most consequential, as it centralizes legal authority under Trump and his appointed attorney general.
Critics warn the order could serve as a backdoor mechanism for the administration to circumvent court rulings or weaken regulatory enforcement on issues such as consumer protections, environmental laws, and Wall Street oversight.
Click play to listen to the report from AURN White House Correspondent Ebony McMorris. For more news, follow @E_N_McMorris & @aurnonline.
