Regulations · analysis

Protections rolled back

Since January 2025 the federal government has repealed, dropped, or frozen protections across the board: limits on power-plant and vehicle pollution, the cap on bank overdraft fees, the rule keeping medical debt off credit reports, the mine-dust limit its own safety agency said would save more than a thousand lives, salmonella limits for chicken. Many of the rollbacks come with the government's own estimate of what is being given up. Courts have stopped some; most are in effect.

This page makes an argument: that the 2025–26 rollbacks removed protections whose value the government itself measured. Each item is sourced; the administration's case and the court reversals are shown below. The other side →

major protections repealed, dropped, or stalled on this list

of them in effect now

$76–130B

health cost of repealing power-plant carbon limits, in EPA's 2025 proposal analysis; the final rule put no dollar figure on it

1,067

deaths the mine silica rule would prevent, per the agency now delaying it

Where they stand

Status of the 26 rollbacks listed below, September 2026.

In effect (17)In effect, challenged in court (1)Final, not yet in effect, challenged in court (1)Proposed or stalled (4)Blocked or reversed by a court (3)

Environment & climate

When	What changed, and the official estimate	Status
Feb 2026 EPA	Repealed the 2009 “endangerment finding” that greenhouse gases threaten health, and with it every vehicle greenhouse-gas standard. EPA claims $1.3T in savings through 2055; in one of EPA's own scenarios the repeal has a net cost of about $180B. The 2024 rule it replaced projected $200B in health benefits.	In effect; being challenged in court Source
Sep 2026 EPA	Repealed carbon limits on existing coal, gas, and oil power plants and on new gas turbines. The repeal takes effect November 16, 2026. EPA: $310B saved through 2047. The final analysis put no dollar figure on the added soot and ozone illness and deaths; EPA's June 2025 analysis of repealing every power-plant carbon rule put that health cost at $76–130B.	Final, not yet in effect; being challenged in court Source
Feb 2026 EPA	Repealed the 2024 tightening of mercury and toxic-air limits for coal plants (MATS). EPA: $670M in savings; the health benefits given up were not calculated.	In effect Source
Jul 2025 / Sep 2026 Congress, NHTSA	Set fuel-economy penalties to $0 and cut the 2031 target from 50.4 to 34.9 mpg. The penalty change is in effect; the new targets take effect November 30, 2026. DOT: $1,300 cheaper new vehicles, $138B saved over 5 years; no official estimate of the added fuel costs.	In effect Source
May 2026 EPA	Proposed rescinding four of six “forever chemical” (PFAS) drinking-water limits and delaying the other two to 2031. The D.C. Circuit refused EPA's request to throw out the four limits, so all six remain in force while the repeal proposal is pending.	Proposed or stalled Source
Mar 2025 Congress	Repealed the methane fee on oil and gas leaks. CBO: $7.2B less revenue over 2025–34.	In effect Source
Feb 2026 EPA	Pushed back coal-ash groundwater monitoring and cleanup deadlines by three years. None published.	In effect Source
Jan 2026 CEQ	Eliminated the government-wide rules for environmental reviews of federal projects (NEPA). None published.	In effect Source
2025 EPA, DOJ	Enforcement: 16 Justice Department civil suits on EPA referrals in the first year, down 76%; about a third of the environment division's lawyers left. EPA's own count: 2,127 civil cases concluded in FY2025 and $652M in penalties assessed.	In effect Source

Consumers & finance

When	What changed, and the official estimate	Status
May 2025 Congress	Repealed the CFPB rule capping bank overdraft fees at $5 (or at cost). CFPB: about $5B a year, or $225 per household that pays overdraft fees.	In effect Source
May 2025 Congress	Repealed CFPB supervision of large digital payment apps. None published.	In effect Source
Jul 2025 CFPB, court	The rule keeping medical debt off credit reports was struck down after the CFPB stopped defending it. CFPB: about $49B of medical debt on the credit reports of about 15 million people.	In effect Source
2025 CFPB	Dropped or changed 41 enforcement actions, including a case alleging Capital One withheld over $2B in interest, and closed about 40% of investigations. Outside estimate: potentially over $3B in lost consumer relief.	In effect Source
May 2025 CFPB	Withdrew 67 guidance documents at once. None published.	In effect Source
Apr 2025 / Nov 2025 OMB, CFPB	Moved to lay off about 1,500 CFPB employees, almost 90% of its staff, then requested $0 in funding for the bureau. A federal court rejected the zero-funding theory (Dec 2025); the layoffs remain blocked.	Blocked or reversed by a court Source
2025–26 SEC	Stopped defending the climate-risk disclosure rule in court (March 2025) and proposed rescinding it (May 2026); the rule has been on hold since April 2024. Also dismissed at least seven crypto enforcement cases, including Coinbase and Binance. None published. The rescission is a proposal; the case dismissals are done.	Proposed or stalled Source

Workers

When	What changed, and the official estimate	Status
Apr 2025 MSHA	Stopped enforcing the 2024 limit on silica dust in mines, then delayed it indefinitely (after an appeals court stay). MSHA's own estimate for the rule: 1,067 deaths and 3,746 illnesses prevented.	In effect Source
2025–26 OSHA	Stalled the first federal heat-illness standard for about 36 million workers. OSHA counts 479 heat deaths on the job in 2011–22.	Proposed or stalled Source
Jan 2025 White House	Fired an NLRB member, leaving the labor board without a quorum to decide cases for about 11 months. None.	In effect Source
Feb 2026 DOL	Proposed rescinding the 2024 independent-contractor rule, making it easier to classify workers as contractors without benefits. None published.	Proposed or stalled Source
Jun 2025 DOL	Suspended enforcement of 2024 protections for H-2A farmworkers. None published.	In effect Source

Health & food

When	What changed, and the official estimate	Status
Apr 2025 USDA	Withdrew the proposed limits on salmonella in raw chicken and turkey. The proposal estimated 765 to 4,300 illnesses prevented a year.	In effect Source
Jul 2025 / Dec 2025 Congress, CMS	Repealed minimum nurse-staffing levels for nursing homes. None published.	In effect Source
Jun 2025 HHS	Removed all 17 members of the CDC's vaccine advisory committee; the new panel narrowed the childhood schedule. A court stayed the new appointments and schedule changes (Mar 2026).	Blocked or reversed by a court Source
Jun 2025 CMS	Added new enrollment hurdles and fees for ACA marketplace coverage. A court stayed and then vacated most provisions.	Blocked or reversed by a court Source

Travelers

When	What changed, and the official estimate	Status
Nov 2025 DOT	Withdrew the plan to require airlines to pay cash compensation (starting at $200) plus meals and hotels for delays and cancellations they cause. None published.	In effect Source

Where courts pushed back

PFAS drinking-water limitsThe D.C. Circuit refused EPA's request to throw out four of the six limits; the whole 2024 rule stays in effect.
Soot (PM2.5) air standardThe D.C. Circuit unanimously upheld the tighter 2024 standard EPA said it lacked authority to set (June 2026).
CFPB funding and layoffsA federal court rejected the zero-funding theory and the layoffs remain blocked.
ACA enrollment ruleMost provisions stayed, then vacated (2025–26).
Vaccine advisory committeeNew appointments and schedule changes stayed (March 2026).
Two-person train crewsThe 11th Circuit upheld the rule against a railroad challenge (August 2026).

The other side

OIRA, FY2025646 deregulatory actions against 5 new regulatory ones (129 to 1) and $211.8B in net savings, by the administration's own count. Source
Endangerment findingCalled “the single largest deregulatory action in American history,” with $1.3T in claimed savings (disputed by FactCheck.org). Source
Stated reasonsLower vehicle prices and power bills, grid reliability, the limits of agencies' legal authority after recent Supreme Court rulings, and shifting enforcement toward fraud with identifiable victims.

Not every lost protection was this administration's doing: courts struck down the 2024 overtime-pay threshold and the airline junk-fee disclosure rule during the Biden administration, and the mine-silica delay began with an appeals-court stay requested by industry.

The deregulation ledger (regulatory volume, both readings) → · The independent regulators →