Why Republicans Used the CRA to Repeal 16 Biden-Era Rules in 2025

The Congressional Review Act, enacted in 1996, is a narrow but potent tool that allows Congress to overturn federal regulations through a simple majority vote rather than the 60-vote supermajority typically required to pass legislation. When an agency finalizes a rule, it must be reported to Congress, triggering a review period during which lawmakers can introduce a joint resolution to disapprove it. If both chambers pass the resolution and the president signs it, the rule is struck down and the agency cannot issue a substantially similar rule without fresh Congressional authorization.

The power of the CRA lies partly in its timing mechanism. A lookback provision extends Congress's review window beyond the standard 60-day period when rules are issued late in a session, giving a new majority at the beginning of a new Congress a chance to challenge a predecessor's final regulations. In 2025, Republicans used the CRA to repeal 16 regulations from the Biden administration.

The 60-day window begins when a rule reaches Congress

Once a federal agency issues a final rule, it must submit that rule to both the House and Senate, along with a printed report. The clock for Congressional Review starts when Congress receives either the published rule or the printed report, whichever comes later. From that moment, members have 60 legislative days—meaning days when Congress is in session, excluding recesses—to introduce a joint resolution of disapproval.

The 60-day period is measured in legislative days rather than calendar days, which makes the window longer in practice. Congress does not meet every day of the year, and recesses for holidays, district work periods, and other scheduled breaks.

Once a disapproval resolution is introduced, it can be considered in the Senate under "fast track" procedures that let a simple majority reach a final vote without needing to invoke cloture. This expedited process ensures that if either chamber wants to act, it can do so quickly without getting bogged down in the normal amendment process.

The lookback rule creates a second chance when sessions end

The CRA's most strategically important feature is its lookback provision. When a rule is submitted to Congress so late in a session that there are fewer than 60 legislative days remaining before that session adjourns, the rule does not lose its vulnerability to disapproval. Instead, the review period automatically extends into the next session of Congress.

Under the lookback rule, any rule submitted during the 60 working days before a session ends receives a new full 60-day review period in the next session. The rule is treated as if it had been submitted to Congress and published in the Federal Register on the 15th legislative day of the new session, giving lawmakers a fresh opportunity to act.

This mechanism prevents administrations from timing rule releases to evade Congressional scrutiny by waiting until shortly before a session ends to submit them. The lookback provision ensures that rules issued in that window still face Congressional Review, giving the new majority time to act.

Simple majority votes bypass the filibuster

Most legislation in the Senate requires 60 votes to advance past a filibuster, a threshold designed to require compromise. But CRA resolutions are different. They pass with a simple majority—51 votes if all members are present—allowing a party with control of the Senate to overturn a regulation without needing support from the other party.

This makes the CRA a powerful tool for a new majority with a narrow Senate advantage. During Trump's second term, Republicans used this expedited process extensively. In 2025, Congress introduced 76 CRA resolutions targeting agency actions from the final months of the Biden administration, covering 47 different rules. Of those resolutions, 16 became law. The resolutions moved swiftly through Congress, taking an average of just under 82 days from introduction to presidential signature, compared to the multi-year timeline for developing the original regulations.

Environmental and consumer protection rules were the primary targets. Of the 47 rules targeted by disapproval resolutions in 2025, 22 were environmental or climate rules and 17 involved consumer or financial protection. The Environmental Protection Agency was the most frequently targeted agency, with 23 resolutions directed at EPA actions.

Current examples show how the power works in practice

Republicans have continued using the CRA into 2026 to target rules and previously unsubmitted actions from the Biden administration. California's vehicle emission standards became a particular point of contention. The Environmental Protection Agency has submitted six California emission waivers dating back to 2009 for Congressional Review, despite determinations by the Senate parliamentarian and the Government Accountability Office that the waivers were not rules. Congressional Republicans have introduced disapproval resolutions for each, though none have yet received a vote.

Bureau of Land Management decisions also featured prominently in disapproval efforts. Republicans passed resolutions disapproving most Bureau of Land Management resource management and leasing plans from the Biden administration, according to September 2026 reporting. These disapprovals removed restrictions on resource extraction and land use policies from the previous administration.

Meanwhile, Democrats introduced far fewer disapproval resolutions targeting Trump administration actions. According to reporting from September 2026, Democratic efforts face a structural obstacle: even if Congress votes to disapprove a Trump administration rule, the president is likely to veto the disapproval resolution, effectively protecting the rule from challenge.

Why the CRA matters for business and policy

The CRA's combination of a simple majority requirement, fast-track procedures, and the lookback provision creates a narrow but powerful window for overturning recent regulations. A new Congress with unified control can use it to erase significant portions of a predecessor's regulatory agenda without needing compromise or supermajority support.

The statistics from 2025 show the scale of the tool's use. The number of rules targeted in 2025 rose by 30.5 percent compared with Trump's first term, according to the Center for Progressive Reform. The 47 rules targeted in 2025 covered actions by 24 different federal agencies, demonstrating the CRA's reach across the regulatory landscape.

For businesses and industries affected by recent regulations, the CRA creates regulatory uncertainty during transitions between administrations. Rules that seemed settled can be struck down within months if political control shifts. For policymakers seeking to enshrine regulations against future reversal, the message is clear: rules issued in the final months of an administration face higher risk of disapproval under the lookback mechanism.

Related coverage: How a Federal Rule Is Made, and Where It Can Be Stopped; Federal Agencies Must Navigate Public Comments, Cost Reviews Before Writing Business Rules.