Trump Issues Executive Order for OMB Oversight of Independent Agencies
The executive directive follows President Trump’s dismissal of key officials within these agencies.
On February 18, President Donald Trump enacted an executive order designed to grant the White House’s Office of Management and Budget oversight over independent federal agencies.
Independent agencies include entities like the Federal Reserve, Federal Communications Commission, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, National Transportation Safety Board, National Labor Relations Board, and Federal Trade Commission.
The order references the Constitution, asserting that the president oversees the executive branch, meaning officials must answer to him.
The document states that these independent agencies “currently exercise substantial executive authority without sufficient accountability to the president, and through him, to the American people” and adds that “these regulatory agencies have been allowed to establish significant regulations without presidential review.”
Consequently, the executive order posits that “for the federal government to be genuinely accountable to the American people, those wielding significant executive power must be supervised and controlled by the elected president.”
This directive permits Trump to dismiss the heads of these agencies.
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“The President and the Attorney General (under the President’s supervision and control) will interpret the law for the executive branch, rather than allowing separate agencies to adopt conflicting interpretations,” the fact sheet mentioned.
This executive order is issued during a time when Trump has dismissed prominent figures such as NLRB General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo, Office of Special Counsel head Hampton Dellinger, and Office of Government Ethics Director David Huitema. These dismissals reflect Trump’s aim to eliminate agency leaders he perceives as opposed to his “America First” agenda.
Dellinger, who was appointed by former President Joe Biden in 2023 and confirmed by the Senate in 2024, has initiated legal action to retain his position. The Trump administration has sought the Supreme Court’s involvement to permit Dellinger’s termination.
Trump has also removed inspectors general, despite the legal requirement to inform Congress 30 days prior to such dismissals.
The executive order “does not apply to the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System or the Federal Open Market Committee when conducting monetary policy” such as interest rate setting, but does apply to “its conduct and authorities directly related to its supervision and regulation of financial institutions.”
This may enable Trump to dismiss Jerome Powell as chairman of the Federal Reserve. Powell, appointed by Trump in 2018, has refused to resign despite facing criticism from Trump.
Lastly, the executive order mandates that the director of the Office of Management and Budget, currently Russell Vought, establish performance metrics for independent agency leaders and report these metrics to the president.
