Trump scrambling to repeal Obama-era rules

President Trump is scrambling to roll back as many Obama-era regulations as he can before times runs out at the end of the month.

The president has already struck down 11 regulations issued by the Obama administration through the Congressional Review Act, and is expected to sign two more in the coming days.

This obscure law empowers Congress to overturn recently published regulations they disapprove of with a simple majority. Trump must then sign off on the repeals.

{mosads}The White House said Wednesday the clock to repeal Obama-era rules expires on April 28, placing pressure on Congress to send the president more regulations before the deadline.

The Trump administration “inherited the biggest regulatory burden in history,” White House director of legislative affairs Marc Short told reporters Wednesday.

“This is what the president campaigned on, that he would look to peel back that regulatory burden,” he said.

“The president is keeping his promise.”

But the CRA limits which rules Republicans can repeal to those that were published in the last 60 legislative days of 2016, which goes back to last June. “We’re not able to look at eight years [worth of rules from] the Obama administration,” Short said.

Lawmakers also face a deadline for repealing these Obama-era regulations. Short said the clock expires April 28, but others have suggested May 9.

The White House is working “in concert” with House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) to formulate a strategy for overturning these rules before the window closes, Short said.

“Nothing is done unilaterally,” he said. “We have to work with Congress to get it passed.”