Which regulations might the next President put on hold?

Of the Labor department’s, the Treasury department’s, and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation’s rules and regulations published as final on or after January 20, 2021, which of them—even with an effective date before 2025—do not become applicable before January 20, 2025?

(In a convention used by Republican and Democrat Presidents over the past 44 years, a newly inaugurated President’s chief of staff directs executive agency heads to review rules that, even if final and effective, have not yet become applicable.)

Has anyone yet written that list?

If not, can you help us crowdsource which rulemakings won’t be applicable before January 20, 2025?
 

To help us with this, Lois Baker assembled from BenefitsLink news a list of 22 rules published during 2024. And I add one from FinCEN.

Four rules that refer to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, or the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 have an applicability date later than January 20, 2025:

A Financial Crimes Enforcement Network rule, Anti-Money Laundering/Countering the Financing of Terrorism Program and Suspicious Activity Report Filing Requirements for Registered Investment Advisers and Exempt Reporting Advisers, has a compliance date of January 1, 2026. The Trump administration might direct a review of the rulemaking. And FinCEN’s rule relates to a rulemaking proposed by the Securities and Exchange Commission. We expect changes in the SEC’s chairperson and a membership in early 2025.

The rule for tax Withholding on Certain Distributions Under Section 3405(a) and (b) applies for payments and distributions made on or after January 1, 2026. The Trump administration might direct a review of the rulemaking.

Some parts of the Requirements Related to the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act rule have an applicability date of the first day of the first plan year that begins on or after January 1, 2026. The Trump administration might direct a review of those parts.

One section, 45 C.F.R. § 164.520, of the HIPAA Privacy Rule To Support Reproductive Health Care Privacy rule has a compliance date of February 16, 2026. The Trump administration might direct a review of that section.

For a rule challenged in a Federal court, the United States might attempt to confess error, withdraw an appeal, or otherwise decline to defend a rule against the plaintiffs’ challenge. (Even when opposing litigants are united about the correct disposition of a case, a Federal court might not accept a confession of error, or other litigation step.)

One might imagine changes in the offices of Attorney General, Solicitor General, and Secretary of Labor leading to an end of the United States’ defense of the Labor department’s Retirement Security Rule: Definition of an Investment Advice Fiduciary and the amendments to related prohibited-transaction exemptions. (BenefitsLink readers might recall that the United States did not ask the Supreme Court to review the Fifth Circuit’s judgment to vacate the 2016 investment-advice fiduciary rule.)

Consider that it might not matter much whether the Biden administration’s or the Trump I (or Trump II) administration’s investment-advice fiduciary rule is (or isn’t) in effect because, following the Supreme Court’s Loper Bright Enterprises opinion, a Federal court decides the court’s interpretation of ERISA § 3(21)(A)(ii) or Internal Revenue Code § 4975(e)(3)(B) without deference to an executive agency’s interpretation.