One of the first things the Trump administration did upon taking office was to order a freeze on implementing regulations and on drafting new regulations that had not yet been published in the Federal Register:

President Trump’s regulatory freeze is in full effect.

Federal agencies are following orders to delay the rules that Obama administration officials finalized before leaving office but that have not yet taken effect.

This week alone, the Department of Health and Human Services delayed two rules: one to protect the privacy of alcohol and drug abusers who seek treatment, and a second to help the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention protect against the introduction, transmission and spread of communicable diseases like Ebola and the Zika virus.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission delayed a rule it finalized two days before the inauguration requiring federal agencies to enact hiring policies that favor individuals with disabilities.

Last week, the Federal Railroad Administration delayed new safety rules for commuter trains, while the U.S. Department of Agriculture delayed news standards for how animals should be treated if the farmer wishes to sell the meat as certified organic.

Trump’s regulatory freeze began with a government-wide memo that White House chief of staff Reince Priebus sent on Jan. 20. The memo advised agency heads to delay rules that had already been published for at least 60 days, pushing most rules back until March 21.

The effect of Trump’s orders has been noticeable in the Federal Register, the daily docket where new and proposed regulations from government agencies are published.

Before Trump took office, the register would often include dozens of regulations at various stages of completion.

Now the docket is short and mostly includes notices about public meetings.

That is some world-class scaremongering going on in there. It leaves you wondering just how the Republic was able to survive without them. In fact, there is even deliberate misstatement of what some of the delayed regulations do. For instance, the CDC regulation makes in more difficult to quarantine people coming from areas with Ebola, etc. Why would a discriminatory hiring rule issued by the EEOC be a good thing, because, let’s be serious, any time you grant a preference to one group you disadvantage everyone not in that group. So I’m not sure that we’re better off with the regulations.

If the Trump administration holds the line of regulations the periodic dumpster fire that passes as a Donald Trump news conference is will worth it.