The incoming chair of the House Freedom Caucus has given President-elect Trump a list of 232 rules and regulations he can repeal on his first day in office.
Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., said on CNN the group of conservative lawmakers came up with a 21-page report to give to Trump that shows their least favorite rules and regulations handed down by the Obama administration. He said it’s an important way to restore balance between the executive and legislative branches.
“The list continues to grow, but we felt like it was important to put together a real working document where they can look at that and make executive branch decisions,” Meadows said.
Meadows said all the regulations listed in the report do not have a possible legislative fix and can’t be repealed under the Congressional Review Act. Republicans in Congress will be working to identify which rules and regulations they need to act on legislatively to repeal.
Meadows also offered an olive branch to Speaker Paul Ryan during the interview. The House Freedom Caucus has often been at odds with House Republican leadership, and Meadows filed a motion to oust former Speaker John Boehner in 2015. Ryan had to meet with the members of the caucus before announcing he’d run for speaker, and didn’t receive all their votes even after assuring them he’d push conservative policies.
But Meadows said all that is pushed aside for now in order to act quickly under Trump, as evidenced by Trump’s praise for Ryan at a rally in Wisconsin on Tuesday.
“A lot of things were said in the past, but I think you can see from last night it’s really all about making sure we hit the road and do the hard work on day one,” he said.
