The Enabling Act, Take Two

The main focus on this story in the blogs is "why was this necessary?" I'm not sure this administration needs a more profound reason beyond 'naked grab for power,' but I'm inclined to agree with the Occam's Razor analysis of Scott Lemieux: that good ol' GOP hatred of the government, especially when it works well.

President Bush has signed a directive that gives the White House much greater control over the rules and policy statements that the government develops to protect public health, safety, the environment, civil rights and privacy.

In an executive order published last week in the Federal Register, Mr. Bush said that each agency must have a regulatory policy office run by a political appointee, to supervise the development of rules and documents providing guidance to regulated industries. The White House will thus have a gatekeeper in each agency to analyze the costs and the benefits of new rules and to make sure the agencies carry out the president’s priorities.

This strengthens the hand of the White House in shaping rules that have, in the past, often been generated by civil servants and scientific experts. It suggests that the administration still has ways to exert its power after the takeover of Congress by the Democrats.