Independent Agency Rules — Week of May 19, 2025

This week, two major government actions raised questions about whether independent agencies can continue making decisions based on science and law rather than politics.

In the Senate, the Republican majority used its procedural authority to set aside the Parliamentarian's advisory guidance and apply a fast-track process called the Congressional Review Act to overturn EPA clean air waivers that California has held for decades. As multiple senators documented in floor speeches (Senator Padilla, Senator Merkley, Senator Whitehouse), EPA waivers had never been treated as "rules" eligible for this process in over 50 years and 131 prior instances. The Government Accountability Office agreed in a 2022 legal opinion. This might matter because reclassifying expert agency decisions—like permits, waivers, and licenses—as "rules" that can be overturned through fast-track votes could weaken the ability of agencies like the EPA to make independent, science-based decisions, which is the reason Congress gave them that authority in the first place.

Separately, President Trump signed Executive Order 14303, "Restoring Gold Standard Science", which directs agencies including the CDC to change how they handle scientific information, including how they describe uncertainty in their findings. The order frames previous scientific integrity policies as "politicization."

Alternative explanations to consider: Most plausibly, the Senate's procedural changes could be seen as a legitimate use of its authority to set its own rules—the Parliamentarian's role is advisory, and the Senate has changed vote thresholds before. The majority may also believe that waivers with major policy implications should be subject to congressional review as a check on agency discretion. The science executive order could reflect genuine concerns about scientific rigor and transparency, or an effort to align agency practices with current priorities, rather than an attempt to control agency conclusions. And the California waiver dispute may be a unique political fight rather than a template for broader institutional change—though several senators warned it sets a precedent for overturning any agency permit or grant.

Limitations: This analysis draws heavily on opposition senators' characterizations; the majority's legal reasoning was not captured in the reviewed documents. This is AI-generated analysis, not a finding of fact.