Presidential Documents

Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 13 / Friday, January 22, 2021 / Presidential Documents 6813 

Executive Order 13979 of January 18, 2021 

Ensuring Democratic Accountability in Agency Rulemaking 

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the 

laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered as follows: 

Section 1. Purpose. American democracy operates on the principle of the 

consent of the governed. Regular elections for the Congress and the President 

and Vice President of the United States are designed to ensure that the 

officials responsible for making and executing the law are held accountable 

to the American people. The President chooses Federal agency heads who 

exercise executive authority and implement his regulatory agenda. The American people, in electing the President, thereby have a role in choosing 

the individuals who govern them. 

However, some agencies have chosen to blur these lines of democratic 

accountability by allowing career officials to authorize, approve, and serve 

as the final word on regulations. This practice transfers the power to set 

rules governing Americans’ daily lives from the President, acting through 

his executive subordinates, to officials insulated from the accountability 

that national elections bring. This practice undermines the power of the 

American people to choose who governs them and I am directing steps 

to end it. 

Sec. 2. Rulemaking by Senior Appointees. (a) To the extent permitted by 

law, the head of each agency shall: 

(i) require that agency rules promulgated under section 553 of title 5, 

United States Code (section 553), must be signed by a senior appointee; 

and 

(ii) require that only senior appointees may initiate the rulemaking process 

for agency rules promulgated under section 553 or may approve the agency’s regulatory agenda. 

(b) Subsection (a) of this section shall not apply if the agency head: 

(i) determines that compliance with this section would impede public 

safety or security; and 

(ii) submits to the Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory 

Affairs (Administrator) within the Office of Management and Budget a 

notification disclosing the reasons for the exemption and publishes such 

notification, consistent with public safety, security, and privacy interests, 

in the Federal Register. 

(c) An agency head may not delegate authority to make the determination 

allowed by subsection (b) of this section. 

(d) The head of each agency shall ensure that the issuance of future 

agency rules promulgated under section 553 adheres to the requirements 

of this section. 

Sec. 3. Review of Existing Delegations of Rulemaking Authority. Within 

180 days of the date of this order, the head of each agency shall, to the 

extent permitted by law: 

(a) review delegations of authority regarding rulemaking and make any 

revisions necessary to ensure that such delegations are consistent with section 

2 of this order; and 

(b) amend agency regulations governing agency management and procedure 

to incorporate the requirements of section 2 of this order. 


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6814 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 13 / Friday, January 22, 2021 / Presidential Documents 

Sec. 4. Review of Existing Rules. (a) Within 90 days of the date of this 

order, the head of each agency shall review all significant rules the agency 

has issued over the last 12 years, and any other rules identified by the 

Administrator, to determine whether the rule was issued by a senior appointee. For good cause shown, the Administrator may authorize an extension 

of the period within which an agency shall conduct such review. 

(b) Within 120 days of the date of this order, the head of each agency 

shall provide a report to the President, through the Administrator, summarizing the findings of the review. For good cause shown, the Administrator 

may authorize an extension of the deadline to provide such report. 

Sec. 5. Definitions. For the purposes of this order, the term: 

(a) ‘‘agency’’ has the meaning given that term in section 3(b) of Executive 

Order 12866 of September 30, 1993 (Regulatory Planning and Review), as 

amended, or any successor order; except that for purposes of this order: 

(i) the term shall include the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau; and 

(ii) the term shall not include the Federal Bureau of Prisons of the Department of Justice; 

(b) ‘‘senior appointee’’ means an individual appointed by the President, 

or performing the functions and duties of an office that requires appointment 

by the President, or a non-career member of the Senior Executive Service 

(or equivalent agency system); 

(c) ‘‘significant rule’’ means any rule that is also a ‘‘significant regulatory 

action’’ as defined in section 3(f) of Executive Order 12866, as amended, 

or any successor order; and 

(d) ‘‘rule’’ has the meaning given that term in section 551(4) of title 

5, United States Code, except that such term does not include any rule 

of agency organization, procedure, or practice that does not substantially 

affect the rights or obligations of non-agency parties. 

Sec. 6. Implementation. The Administrator shall provide guidance on the 

implementation of this order and shall monitor agency compliance with 

the order. 

Sec. 7. 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. 


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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 13 / Friday, January 22, 2021 / Presidential Documents 6815 

(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. 

THE WHITE HOUSE, 

January 18, 2021. 

[FR Doc. 2021–01644 

Filed 1–21–21; 11:15 am] 

Billing code 3295–F1–P 


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