President Donald Trump has unleashed a quiet but ferocious assault on federal regulations, dismantling burdensome rules from the Biden and Obama eras with a speed that’s turning heads. This isn’t just a policy tweak; it’s a full-scale rebellion against the sprawling administrative state.

According to the Washington Examiner, Trump’s team isn’t merely meeting his campaign pledge to cut 10 regulations for every new one proposed; they’ve also hit pause on issuing fresh mandates. The shift is so stark that regulation expert Clyde Wayne Crews of the Competitive Enterprise Institute has branded it the “Unrule.”

This dramatic pivot from the previous administration’s approach signals a deep distrust of unchecked bureaucratic power. Crews notes, “What we’re witnessing is the rise of the ‘Unrule,’ a revolt against the machinery of the administrative state.” But let’s be clear: this isn’t blind chaos; it’s a calculated push to free up businesses and citizens from rules that often seem more about control than common sense.

Reversing the Regulatory Tide with Precision

Many actions taken by Trump’s team aren’t about piling on new restrictions but tearing down old ones. Crews points out that numerous so-called “rules” this year are actually reversals, delays, or outright withdrawals of prior mandates.

This isn’t just paperwork shuffling; it’s a recognition that many regulations don’t just fail to help—they actively harm. Take the rollback of Biden’s Environmental Protection Agency push for clean vehicles, a policy Detroit called unworkable. That kind of overreach is exactly what this administration seems determined to uproot.

The numbers tell a story of their own. Trump’s first term already saw a near four-to-one ratio of cuts to new rules, surpassing his initial two-for-one promise, and now he’s aiming even higher with this 10-to-1 target.

Draining the Bureaucratic Swamp for Real

Beyond slashing rules, the administration is taking a hard look at the unelected bureaucrats who write and enforce them. Crews highlights that agencies are being defunded, downsized, and in some cases, shut down entirely.

Even the sneaky backdoor tactics of the past, like guidance documents and sub-regulatory decrees that dodged public scrutiny, are under fire. This isn’t just trimming fat; it’s a surgical strike at a system that’s long operated with too little accountability.

For those who’ve watched small businesses drown under compliance costs or seen Wall Street tangled in red tape, this feels like a long-overdue reckoning. Crews aptly notes, “When the bureaucracy gets put in time out, nobody but the vast industry surrounding it misses it.”

A Lesson for Congress to Heed

Crews has been sounding the alarm on regulatory overreach for years, urging Congress to step up, and he sees Trump’s moves as a teachable moment. He argues that lawmakers should take this baton and run with it, defunding and restricting bureaucratic operations.

His words carry weight: “Congress now should pick up the baton from the administration and abolish it. Actually, it should have done that ages ago.” The frustration is palpable—why has it taken an executive blitz to expose what’s been obvious to so many for so long?

The potential payoff, as Crews sees it, isn’t just less hassle but a real boost to the economy, jobs, and even public health and safety. If Congress drags its feet while the White House clears the path, it risks looking like the last defender of a broken status quo.

A Bold Blueprint for Lasting Change

Trump’s regulation-cutting spree, likened by Crews to the sci-fi classic “The Day The Earth Stood Still,” isn’t just a policy win; it’s a cultural signal. It’s a reminder that government shouldn’t be a perpetual growth industry at the expense of everyone else.

For Main Street entrepreneurs and everyday families, this could mean breathing room from rules that often feel like solutions in search of a problem. The question now is whether this momentum holds, or if the entrenched interests of Washington find a way to claw back their power.

Ultimately, this “Unrule” campaign is a gamble on the idea that less government meddling can unleash more American grit. Time will tell if it’s a fleeting rebellion or the start of a leaner, freer system that puts people over paperwork.