Federal regulations imposed by the Biden administration reached costs of $2.16 trillion in 2024, generating a "hidden regulatory tax" of more than $16,000 on U.S. households, according to a study released Thursday by the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI).
CEI's study, titled "Ten Thousand Commandments," said the $16,016 in regulatory costs consumes 16% of income and 21% of household expenses.
The report found that then-President Joe Biden reversed "even modest liberalizations" of regulation from President Donald Trump's first administration. Biden "changed the Office of Management and Budget's mission away from oversight and toward the promotion of the administration's regulatory initiatives," the report said.
But "Congress should be held accountable for such large regulatory actions," the report said.
The study found that the Biden administration issued 3,248 new final regulations in 2024, the pages of which surged to 106,109 in the Federal Register, "the highest tally on record and a 19% rise over 2023." Trump's 2,964 new final regulations in 2019 is the lowest on record, according to CEI.
Biden averaged 126 major rules, far exceeding Trump's 86, CEI found.
Further, Biden's four years averaged 846 rules annually on small business, compared with 701 for Trump.
Biden, CEI wrote, implemented a "whole-of-government" approach in its implementation of rules, executive orders and memorandums, "which the Trump administration is now in the process of reversing."
"The whole-of-government philosophy advocates using every possible lever of government to advance certain policy objectives. In practice, that means that agencies, instead of being guided solely by their core missions, also pursue goals such as equity, environmental justice, climate change and rallying transformations like the care economy. This management approach consolidates power in Washington, further undermining the federalist system of government," CEI wrote.
Mark Swanson ✉
Mark Swanson, a Newsmax writer and editor, has nearly three decades of experience covering news, culture and politics.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.