Federal Register executive orders — 2025-05-14

Fighting Overcriminalization in Federal Regulations

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered:

Section 1 . Purpose . The United States is drastically overregulated. The Code of Federal Regulations contains over 48,000 sections, stretching over 175,000 pages—far more than any citizen can possibly read, let alone fully understand. Worse, many carry potential criminal penalties for violations. The situation has become so dire that no one—likely including those charged with enforcing our criminal laws at the Department of Justice—knows how many separate criminal offenses are contained in the Code of Federal Regulations, with at least one source estimating hundreds of thousands of such crimes. Many of these regulatory crimes are “strict liability” offenses, meaning that citizens need not have a guilty mental state to be convicted of a crime.

This status quo is absurd and unjust. It allows the executive branch to write the law, in addition to executing it. That situation can lend itself to abuse and weaponization by providing Government officials tools to target unwitting individuals. It privileges large corporations, which can afford to hire expensive legal teams to navigate complex regulatory schemes and fence out new market entrants, over average Americans.

The purpose of this order is to ease the regulatory burden on everyday Americans and ensure no American is transformed into a criminal for violating a regulation they have no reason to know exists.

Sec. 2 . Policy . It is the policy of the United States that:

(a) Criminal enforcement of criminal regulatory offenses is disfavored.

(b) Prosecution of criminal regulatory offenses is most appropriate for persons who know or can be presumed to know what is prohibited or required by the regulation and willingly choose not to comply, thereby causing or risking substantial public harm. Prosecutions of criminal regulatory offenses should focus on matters where a putative defendant is alleged to have known his conduct was unlawful.

(c) Strict liability offenses are “generally disfavored.” United States v. United States Gypsum, Co. , 438 U.S. 422, 438 (1978). Where enforcement is appropriate, agencies should consider civil rather than criminal enforcement of strict liability regulatory offenses or, if appropriate and consistent with due process and the right to jury trial, see Jarkesy v. Securities and Exchange Commission , 603 U.S. 109 (2024), administrative enforcement.

(d) Agencies promulgating regulations potentially subject to criminal enforcement should explicitly describe the conduct subject to criminal enforcement, the authorizing statutes, and the mens rea standard applicable to those offenses.

Sec. 3 . Definitions . For purposes of this order:

(a) “Agency” has the meaning given to “Executive agency” in section 105 of title 5, United States Code;

(b) “Criminal regulatory offense” means a Federal regulation that is enforceable by a criminal penalty; and

(c) “Mens rea” means the state of mind that by law must be proven to convict a particular defendant of a particular crime.

Sec. 4 . Report on Criminal Regulatory Offenses . (a) Within 365 days of the date of this order, the head of each agency, in consultation with the Attorney General, shall provide to the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) a report containing:

(i) a list of all criminal regulatory offenses enforceable by the agency or the Department of Justice; and

(ii) for each criminal regulatory offense identified in subsection (a)(i) of this section, the range of potential criminal penalties for a violation and the applicable mens rea standard for the criminal regulatory offense.

(b) At the same time the head of each agency provides to the Director of OMB the report required by subsection (a) of this section, the agency head shall publicly post the report on its agency webpage.

(c) The head of each agency shall periodically, but not less than once a year, update the report described in subsection (a) of this section.

(d) Criminal enforcement of any criminal regulatory offense not identified in the report described in subsection (a) of this section is strongly discouraged. The head of each agency shall consider whether a criminal regulatory offense is included in an agency's public report when considering whether to make a criminal referral to the Department of Justice or, where applicable, to the agency's Inspector General. Further, the Attorney General shall consider whether a criminal regulatory offense is included in an agency's public report before initiating an investigation or initiating criminal proceedings for violating regulatory standards.

Sec. 5 . Promoting Regulatory Transparency . (a) Following issuance of this order, all future notices of proposed rulemaking (NPRMs) and final rules published in the Federal Register , the violation of which may constitute criminal regulatory offenses, should include a statement identifying that the rule or proposed rule is a criminal regulatory offense and the authorizing statute. Agencies should draft this statement in consultation with the Department of Justice.

(b) The regulatory text of all NPRMs and final rules with criminal consequences published in the Federal Register after the date of this order should explicitly state a mens rea requirement for each element of a criminal regulatory offense, accompanied by citations to the relevant provisions of the authorizing statute.

(c) Strict liability criminal regulatory offenses are disfavored. Any proposed or final criminal regulatory offense that includes a strict liability mens rea for the offense shall be treated as a “significant regulatory action” and submitted to the Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs for the review applicable to significant regulatory actions under Executive Order 12866 of September 30, 1993 (Regulatory Planning and Review), or any successor process.

Sec. 6 . Default Mens Rea for Criminal Regulatory Offenses . (a) The head of each agency, in consultation with the Attorney General, shall examine the agency's statutory authorities and determine whether there is authority to adopt a background mens rea standard for criminal regulatory offenses that applies unless a specific regulation states an alternative mens rea.

(b) Within 30 days of the submission of the report described in section 4(a) of this order, the head of each agency, in consultation with the Attorney General, shall submit a report to the Director of OMB summarizing the information submitted under section 4(a) of this order and assessing whether the applicable mens rea standards for criminal regulatory offenses enforced by the agency are appropriate. If consistent with the statutory authorities identified pursuant to the review described in subsection (a) of this section, the report should present a plan for changing the applicable mens rea standards and adopting a generally applicable background mens rea standard, and provide a justification for each criminal regulatory offense for which the agency proposes to deviate from its default mens rea standard.

Sec. 7 . Agency Referrals for Potential Criminal Enforcement . Within 45 days of the date of this order, and in consultation with the Attorney General, each agency should publish guidance in the Federal Register describing its plan to address criminally liable regulatory offenses. Each agency's guidance should make clear that when the agency is deciding whether to refer alleged violations of criminal regulatory offenses to the Department of Justice, the agency should consider factors such as:

(a) the harm or risk of harm, pecuniary or otherwise, caused by the alleged offense;

(b) the potential gain to the putative defendant that could result from the offense;

(c) whether the putative defendant held specialized knowledge, expertise, or was licensed in an industry related to the rule or regulation at issue; and

(d) evidence, if any is available, of the putative defendant's general awareness of the unlawfulness of his conduct as well as his knowledge or lack thereof of the regulation at issue.

Sec. 8 . Effect on Immigration Enforcement and National Security Functions . Nothing in this order shall apply to the enforcement of the immigration laws or regulations promulgated to implement such laws, nor shall it apply to the enforcement of laws or regulations related to national security or defense.

Sec. 9 . General Provisions . (a) Nothing in this order shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:

(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or the head thereof; or

(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.

(b) This order shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and subject to the availability of appropriations.

(c) This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.

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Increasing Efficiency at the Office of the Federal Register

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered:

Section 1 . Purpose . Deregulation is a critical priority for my Administration. We will foster prosperity by freeing Americans from the heavy burden of Federal regulations accumulated over decades. Although the decision about which regulations to eliminate is sometimes complex, the administrative process of removing a regulation from the Code of Federal Regulations through a rulemaking should be simple. It is not.

The Office of the Federal Register frequently takes days or, in some cases, even weeks to publish new regulatory actions. Such delay is unwarranted. The Office of the Federal Register receives final documents that are fully executed by the relevant decisionmakers—all that remains is publication. Yet despite those delays, executive departments and agencies are charged $151-$174 per column of text to publish each rule in the Federal Register . These inefficiencies inhibit my Administration's deregulatory agenda and waste taxpayer money.

Sec. 2 . Increasing Efficiency in the Federal Register . (a) The Archivist of the United States (Archivist), acting through the Office of the Federal Register, shall work with the Director of the Government Publishing Office to reduce publication delays to the greatest extent feasible, including by modernizing computer systems and eliminating unnecessary bureaucracy.

(b) Within 15 days of the date of this order, the Archivist, acting through the Office of the Federal Register, shall submit a report to the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) reflecting average publication times for different categories of documents.

(c) Within 45 days of the date of this order, the Archivist, acting through the Office of the Federal Register, shall review the fee schedules for publication in the Federal Register and, working with the Director of the Government Publishing Office, take steps to ensure that fees are based on the actual costs of publication and account for increased efficiencies achieved as a result of this order. The Archivist, acting through the Office of the Federal Register, shall promptly file a report with the Director of OMB calculating the percentage difference in fees between any proposed new fee schedule and the prior one.

(d) No later than August 22, 2025, the Archivist, acting through the Office of the Federal Register, shall submit a second report to the Director of OMB reflecting average publication times between July 15, 2025, and August 15, 2025, for the same categories of documents on which the Office of the Federal Register reported under subsection (b) of this section.

Sec. 3 . General Provisions . (a) Nothing in this order shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:

(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or the head thereof; or

(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.

(b) This order shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and subject to the availability of appropriations.

(c) This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.

(d) The costs for publication of this order shall be borne by the National Archives and Records Administration.

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Keeping Promises to Veterans and Establishing a National Center for Warrior Independence

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered:

Section 1 . Purpose and Policy . Our Nation's security, prosperity, and freedom would not be possible without our veterans. Many service members paid the ultimate sacrifice. Many others bear visible and invisible wounds from their service. Too many veterans are homeless in America. Each veteran deserves our gratitude.

Yet the Federal Government has not always treated veterans like the heroes they are. During the previous administration, unaccountable bureaucrats treated them shamefully, failing veterans when they needed help most and betraying the taxpayers who rightfully expect better.

The story of the West Los Angeles Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Center is indicative of this failure. More than one hundred years ago, Senator John Percival Jones and Arcadia Bandini de Stearns Baker generously donated hundreds of acres of land that they owned in West Los Angeles on the condition that it be used to house disabled veterans. The campus once featured a chapel, billiard hall, 1,000-seat theater, and housed about 6,000 veterans, but the Federal Government has since allowed this crown jewel of veteran care to deteriorate over the last few decades.

The Department of Veterans Affairs (Department) leased parts of the property to a private school, private companies, and the baseball team of the University of California, Los Angeles, sometimes at significantly below-market prices. As of 2024, there were approximately 3,000 homeless veterans in Los Angeles, more than in any other city in the country and accounting for about 10 percent of all of America's homeless veterans. Many of these heroes live in squalor in Los Angeles's infamous “skid row.”

During my first term, I signed legislation to increase accountability and expand benefits and choices for veterans in accessing care, and my second term will build on those efforts. Accountability will return to the Department. Veterans around the Nation will have more choices in care, benefits, and services. The VA campus in West Los Angeles will become the National Center for Warrior Independence with facilities and resources to help our veterans earn back their self-sufficiency.

Sec. 2 . Establishing the National Center for Warrior Independence . The Secretary of Veterans Affairs (Secretary) shall take all appropriate action to:

(a) designate a National Center for Warrior Independence on the West Los Angeles VA Campus in which homeless veterans in the Los Angeles metropolitan area and around the Nation can seek and receive the care, benefits, and services to which they are entitled;

(b) work with other municipalities and VA facilities to ensure that homeless veterans outside the Los Angeles metropolitan area who want to avail themselves of the National Center for Warrior Independence are provided the means to do so;

(c) in coordination with the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, and the heads of any other relevant executive departments or agencies, ensure that funds that may have been spent on housing or other services for illegal aliens are redirected to construct, establish, and maintain this National Center for Warrior Independence;

(d) work to restore self-sufficiency and the warrior ethos among homeless veterans through any guidance, requirements, or services needed to ensure that homeless veterans can access housing, receive substance abuse or addiction treatment, and return to productive work and community engagement; and

(e) within 120 days of the date of this order, present an action plan to the President, through the Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy, to meet these directives and restore the capacity to house up to 6,000 homeless veterans at the National Center for Warrior Independence by January 1, 2028.

Sec. 3 . Voucher Program . The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development shall, in consultation with the Secretary, use vouchers to support homeless veterans in the Los Angeles metropolitan area and around the Nation with respect to this effort.

Sec. 4 . Restoring Accountability at the Department of Veterans Affairs . The Secretary shall take the following steps to restore accountability and excellent service at the Department:

(a) take appropriate action against individuals who have committed misconduct, making full use of and in accordance with the Department of Veterans Affairs Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act of 2017 (Public Law 115-41); and

(b) investigate and take steps to rectify the previous administration's decision to rehire and reinstate back pay for employees previously fired for misconduct and direct such savings back toward care, benefits, and services for veterans, in accordance with all applicable laws.

Sec. 5 . Providing Choices and Excellence to Veterans . The Secretary shall take steps to increase the excellence of and options for care, benefits, and services for veterans including:

(a) within 60 days of the date of this order, submitting a report to the President, through the Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy, with a plan to reduce wait times for Veterans Health Administration appointments that explores options like expanding office hours, offering weekend appointments, and increasing the use of virtual healthcare options;

(b) within 30 days of the date of this order, directing a feasibility study at the Manchester VA Medical Center and within 180 days of this order, submitting to the President, through the Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy, an action plan to expand services to support a full-service medical center in New Hampshire so that it is no longer the only State in the contiguous United States without such a center; and

(c) in consultation with the Secretary of Defense, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, and the Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy, developing a strategy to improve the delivery and quality of the Department's healthcare services in a more efficient and effective manner to support veterans; the strategy shall initially prioritize implementation of actions to reduce access times and improve service delivery, to include options for offering treatment to veterans at select military treatment facilities and military beneficiaries at VA facilities with appropriate reimbursement.

Sec. 6 . General Provisions . (a) Nothing in this order shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:

(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department, agency, or the head thereof; or

(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.

(b) This order shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and subject to the availability of appropriations.

(c) This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.

(d) The Department of Veterans Affairs shall provide funding for this order's publication in the Federal Register .

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