Verified snapshot · October 30, 2026
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Regulations: the rules under the laws

Congress sets the principle, an agency writes the details. Here is how a rule is made, and how it can be undone.

A statute sets the goal and names an agency to fill in the details: the EPA, the FDA, the Labor Department.

All steps in text
  1. A statute sets the goal and names an agency to fill in the details: the EPA, the FDA, the Labor Department.
  2. The agency publishes a draft in the Federal Register with a comment period, usually 30 to 60 days. Anyone can comment.
  3. The agency answers the comments, publishes the final text and it is codified in the Code of Federal Regulations.
  4. Under the Congressional Review Act, both chambers can disapprove a new rule by simple majority within a set window. The president must sign.
  5. A rule that goes beyond the statute, or is arbitrary, can be struck down. Since 2024 courts no longer defer to an agency’s reading of an unclear law.

✗It seems that Agencies make up rules on their own.

✓Actually Every rule rests on a law Congress passed, goes through public comment, and can be cancelled by Congress or a court.

Why it matters

Much of what the federal government does day to day is regulation, not legislation. The comment period is the public’s direct door into it.

See it in the data

Source: Federal Register API: latest rules through October 30, 2026 (October 30, 2026) · Government Accountability Office: Congressional Review Act (October 30, 2026)

Verified snapshot: October 30, 2026. The explanations are written in plain language from official sources and are not legal advice. Each concept lists its sources.

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