WASHINGTON (February 19, 2025) – According to , an executive order has been signed bringing independent agencies under White House control. Such a move significantly expands powers in the White House and is expected to face legal challenges.
The order grants budget chief Russ Vought oversight authority, forcing agencies like the FCC and SEC to align with presidential priorities. Critics argue this undermines their independence, while supporters say it ensures accountability.
Faculty experts at the George Washington University are available to offer insight, analysis and commentary on the newly signed executive order. If you would like to speak with an expert, please contact GW Media Relations Specialist Tayah Frye at .
Regulatory Policy
is the Director of the and a Professor of Practice at the GW Trachtenberg School. His career includes service as Executive Vice President and Chief Legal Officer at BNSF Railway, Chairman of the U.S. Surface Transportation Board and Chief Counsel of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the U.S. House of Representatives. Nober retired from BNSF Railway Co. in December 2022, after 16 years as an Executive Vice President responsible for overseeing legal and regulatory matters, environmental claims, compliance, communications as well as state government and community affairs.
is a distinguished professor of practice in the GW Trachtenberg School of Public Policy and Public Administration and former director of the GW Regulatory Studies Center. Dudley served as the Presidentially-appointed Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, directed the Regulatory Studies Program at the Mercatus Center, served as a staff economist at OIRA, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and as a consultant to government and private clients at Economists Incorporated. Her expertise includes regulatory policy, federal regulatory procedure, benefit-cost analysis, risk assessment, environmental policy, health & safety regulation, and financial market regulation.
is an associate professor and co-director of the GW Regulatory Studies Center. His research focuses on regulatory and bureaucratic policymaking, exploring the effects of organizational design on agency rulemaking and enforcement practices, political responses to disasters in regulated industries, factors that influence rule timing and durability, and the role supporting analysis plays in regulatory outcomes. Carrigan’s expertise includes regulation, bureaucratic politics, public administration and policy, and political economy.
, associate professor and co-director of the GW Regulatory Studies Center, studies government transparency and public participation in policymaking in China and the United States. Balla is currently working on projects on congressional oversight of regulatory policymaking, polarization in public commenting on proposed rules, transparency and participation in state rulemaking, commenting on midnight regulations, policymaking innovation in China, transparency and participation in policymaking in Hong Kong and Taiwan, and the responsiveness of Chinese government officials to public feedback on draft laws and regulations.
Political Implications
is the director of the Political Management Program at the GW Graduate School of Political Management. Belt is an expert on the presidency, campaigns and elections, mass media and politics, public opinion, and political humor. In addition to his expertise, Belt is co-author of four books and helps to run GW’s political poll, which recently shared .
is the director of GW’s School of Media and Public Affairs. He has nearly 30 years of experience in politics and communications, having served as a deputy to the chief of staff for Sen. Edward Kennedy during the 1995 shutdown, a VP at the US Institute of Peace in 2013, and held senior positions for three members of the U.S. House of Representatives. Loge currently leads the Project on Ethics in Political Communication at the School of Media and Public Affairs and continues to advise advocates and organizations.
is the director of the Legislative Affairs program at the Graduate School of Political Management and host of its . Prior to joining GSPM, Burgat was a Senior Governance Fellow at the R Street Institute where his research focused on issues of congressional capacity and reform. Burgat co-authored Congress Explained: Representation and Lawmaking in the First Branch, a textbook on all things Congress.
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