With Joe Biden being elected President and the Republicans very possibly keeping a majority in the Senate,1 we may have another “Washington 180” coming up next year.
After the Republicans took the House in 2010, Barack Obama couldn’t get Congress to pass his agenda. When Congress wouldn’t pass the laws he wanted, President Obama turned to what he called his “pen and phone.”2 Sometimes, departments and agencies followed the Administrative Procedure Act and adopted formal regulations. Other times, they just issued new interpretations of laws or prior regulations. Or they sent so-called “Dear Colleagues” letters to state and local governments setting out new rules, with an implied threat to cut off federal funding if they didn’t follow the new rules or standards.
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