Students learn in civics class—or at least they used to—that under the U.S. Constitution, Congress passes the laws, and the president and the rest of the executive branch have the duty to “take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed.”
It seems that many federal officials missed that lesson in school, however, since government agencies today are writing regulations that flout the law with increasing regularity.
Instead of executing laws “faithfully,” the new standard seems to be “to the extent it’s convenient.”
Take the Treasury Department’s recent rulemaking on federal funding to state and local governments related to COVID-19. You might have thought that the “public health emergency” related to COVID-19 was over, but regulators at Treasury came up with some imaginative changes to the English language to ensure that the federal gravy train…
