President Donald Trump plans to gut government regulations in order to "open up the animal spirits of the economy," according to Trump aides who spoke to Axios.
Inside the administration, some call Trump's choices for his Cabinet "the deconstructors" because they believe in shaking up the agencies that they would lead.
"This is an important area that has flown under the radar among Democrats, and even Republicans and conservatives. President Trump plans to attack the regulatory state from every angle. The government has been captured by elites, which gets to the very core of what animates the president," a senior transition source told Axios.
Trump plans to suspend or pull back any rules from the Obama administration that had not been finalized, taking a new look at finalized rules if they have "highly negative economic consequences" and suspending some hiring and some grants to nonprofits and universities, the Axios report said.
The president plans to use executive actions to take apart regulations, which can be accomplished more quickly than legislation, which would have to go through Congress and take more time, the sources told Axios.
Targets include the Environmental Protection Agency, which would include the Clean Power Plan and greenhouse gas regulations. At the Department of the Interior, Trump aims to reopen the five-year leasing plan that determines which offshore locations are viable for energy exploration.
At the Department of Energy, Trump's plans include freezing regulations, loan guarantees, and cutting President Barack Obama's Climate Action Plan.
Education advisers are telling Trump to push tax credits for student education needs and to make Title 1 funding available directly to poor families to spend how they want instead of sending it to public schools, sources told Axios.
Strategist Steve Bannon and policy adviser Stephen Miller, among others, were the guiding forces behind Trump's strategy, according to Axios.
Doug Ericksen, the head of communications for Trump's EPA transition team, told NPR Tuesday that scientists' work may be vetted internally before being publicly shared.
"We'll take a look at what's happening so that the voice coming from the EPA is one that's going to reflect the new administration," Ericksen said.
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