Navigating Trump administration executive orders impacting regulatory freezes at key agencies.

By Sean Berkowitz, Kevin Chambers, Danielle Conley, Alice Fisher, Roman Martinez, Nicholas Lloyd McQuaid, and Jonathan Su

“Immediate Pause on Issuing Documents and Public Communications — ACTION.”

Approval Required for Document Publication in the Federal Register:

• The memo instructs the heads of Operating Divisions and Staff Divisions (the “Heads”) to “[r]efrain from sending any document for publication to the Office of the Federal Register until it has been reviewed and approved by a Presidential Appointee.”
• Consistent with this instruction, the Office of the Executive Secretary to withdraw from the Office of the Federal Register “all documents that had not been published in the Federal Register to allow for such review and approval.”

Approval Required for Public Communications and Documents:

• The memo instructs the Heads to “[r]efrain from publicly issuing any document (e.g., regulation, guidance, notice, grant announcement) or communication (e.g., social media, websites, press releases, and communication using listservs) until it has been reviewed and approved by a Presidential appointee.”

Approval Required for Public Speaking Engagements:

• The memo instructs the Heads to “[r]efrain from participating in any public speaking engagement until the event and material have been reviewed and approved by a Presidential appointee.”

Official Correspondence Coordination:

• The Heads are instructed to “[c]oordinate with Presidential appointees prior to issuing official correspondence to public officials (e.g., members of Congress, governors) or containing interpretations of statements of Department regulations or policy.” The memo clarifies that nothing in it is “intended to limit an employee’s personal correspondence with members of Congress or other third parties, including an employee’s whistleblower protected communications.”

Notification to the Office of the Executive Secretary:

• The memo instructs the Heads to notify the Office of the Executive Secretary promptly of “any documents or communications that you believe should not be subject to the directives in paragraphs 1-4” for the following reasons:
  • They are required by statute or regulation;
  • Affect critical health, safety, environmental, financial, or national security functions of the Department;
  • For some other reason.

• If seeking an exemption for the reasons above, the Heads are instructed to provide the Exec Sec Policy Coordinator with the title, a brief summary, the target release date, and the rationale for expedited release.