Musk, Ramaswamy put spotlight on proliferation of U.S. regulations

The private sector will have to spend roughly $1.8 trillion to implement federal rules approved under President Joe Biden, according to an analysis of agency projections by the American Action Forum, a center-right think tank. The surge in regulations, long maligned by Republicans, is getting fresh attention as Trump prepares once again to take office. As part of their nongovernmental “Department of Government Efficiency,” tech entrepreneurs Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy have vowed to move rapidly to slash federal rules, with plans to have Trump immediately freeze “thousands” through executive order and permanently undo thousands more. Ramaswamy claims “a majority” of existing regulations are unconstitutional and argues that scrapping them could usher in a “new dawn” for the country, reflecting the broader anger among business executives about Biden’s regulations.