Barr to lead pro-business effort to challenge Biden rules

Former Attorney General Bill Barr will help lead a slew of legal challenges to Biden administration rules at the American Free Enterprise Chamber of Commerce, the GOP-aligned business group announced Thursday. 

Barr will chair an advisory board at the AmFree Chamber’s newly launched Center for Legal Action, which aims to block federal regulations opposed by businesses. He’ll help the group develop legal strategies and recruit legal talent to the board. 

“Overreaching federal bureaucracies are drowning American businesses under an unprecedented wave of burdensome regulation that is smothering our nation’s economic growth, innovation and competitiveness,” Barr said in a statement. 

The AmFree Chamber, launched last May by former Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad (R), is billed as a conservative alternative to existing business lobbying groups such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which fell out of favor with some House GOP leaders after working closely with them to pass tax cuts in 2017.

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) said in a statement that the AmFree Chamber’s legal effort is “welcome news” for House Republicans. He pledged to work with the group in fighting Biden administration rules.

The AmFree Chamber plans to challenge several Environmental Protection Agency rules governing air quality, greenhouse gas emissions and toxic substances, and a Securities and Exchange Commission rule mandating that companies disclose their climate-related risks, among other regulations. 

Companies and business groups often sue to take down federal regulations that would hurt their industry. They’ve found success in blocking numerous Biden administration rules, including a proposal to expand protections for U.S. water bodies. 

The U.S. Chamber released a report Tuesday showing that corporations are increasingly concerned about regulations and other policy changes as threats to their profit margins. 

Barr, who served as attorney general under President Trump and President George H. W. Bush, has emerged as a prominent conservative critic of Trump. He said this week that Trump is the GOP candidate most likely to lose to President Biden in the 2024 election.