The New York Times in its May 7 morning briefing discussed the use of the Congressional Review Act (CRA) during the Trump administration to reverse certain regulations issued by the Obama administration. Trump administration officials, according to the Times, are working to ensure that the administration’s own regulations are not similarly vulnerable to reversal under the CRA by a future administration.

What is the Congressional Review Act?

The CRA is a 1996 federal law that affords Congress a check on the rulemaking activities of federal agencies. The law creates a review period during which Congress, by passing a joint resolution of disapproval later signed by the president, can overturn a new federal agency rule and block the issuing agency from creating a similar rule in the future. Congress and the president have used the CRA to repeal 17 rules, 16 of which were repealed after President Donald Trump (R) took office in 2017.