Many past attendees at TRG's regulatory training courses have asked us for guidance on how their agencies can properly comply with the January 20, 2017, "Regulatory Freeze Pending Review" memorandum from President Trump's Chief of Staff, Reince Priebus, while staying in compliance with the Administrative Procedure Act. This type of memorandum is typical for a new administration and is referred to as a freeze memorandum, as its goal is to freeze the actions of the outgoing administration while the incoming administration gets established. Since freeze memos have come out of administrations going back to Ronald Reagan, we decided to respond to requests for advice in the form of a review of how past administrations have implemented similar freeze memos. In particular, the attached memo provides an overview of how, during previous administrations, agencies delayed, withdrew, or modified final rules that were published in the Federal Register, but were not yet effective.

We hope this is helpful. Feedback invited.

Link to TRG's guidance memo here.