MCAA Government Affairs Update for February 10, 2025: The Latest Developments Impacting Our Industry

As part of its ongoing commitment to protecting your livelihood and setting the stage for a bright future, MCAA has secured the services of Longbow Public Policy Group to advise our MCAA Government Affairs Committee (GAC). GAC Chair, Jim Gaffney will be passing along information relative to our industry on a regular basis.

On Monday, February 10, 2025 MCAA Lobbying Firm, Longbow Public Policy Group provided the following information:

Trump Administration

Senate Confirms Several Trump Cabinet Nominees

Over the last two weeks, the Senate has confirmed several Trump Cabinet nominees, including: (1) former South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem as Homeland Security Secretary; (2) Liberty Energy CEO Chris Wright as Energy Secretary; (3) former North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum (R) as Interior Secretary; (4) former Rep. Sean Duffy (R-WI) as Transportation Secretary; (5) hedge fund manager Scott Bessent as Treasury Secretary; (6) former Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-NY) to lead the Environmental Protection Agency; (7) Pete Hegseth as Defense Secretary; (8) former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi as U.S. Attorney General; (9) former NFL player and Texas state representative Eric Scott Turner as Housing and Urban Development Secretary; (10) Russel Vought as Director of the Office of Management and Budget; and (11) former Rep. Doug Collins (R-GA) as Veterans Affairs Secretary. To date, the Senate has confirmed 13 Cabinet-level nominees, more than double the number at this point under the previous two administrations. 

Last week, Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-ND) also filed cloture on: (1) Robert F. Kennedy’s nomination to be Health and Human Services Secretary; (2) Howard Lutnick’s nomination to be Commerce Secretary; (3) former Sen. Kelly Loeffler’s (R-GA) nomination to lead the Small Business Administration; (4) Brooke Rollins’ nomination to be Agriculture Secretary; and (5) former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard’s (D-HI) nomination to be Director of National Intelligence. 

Senate HELP Schedules Labor Secretary Confirmation Hearing for This Wednesday

The policy team ramped up its advocacy for former Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer’s MCAA-supported nomination to be the next Labor Secretary after the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee noticed her confirmation this Wednesday, February 12, 2025 at 10am. Her confirmation hearing comes after Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), a senior Republican on the HELP Committee, said on January 27^th that he will oppose her MCAA-supported nomination because of her “pro-union views”—particularly her support of the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act. Paul also predicted that Chavez-DeRemer would “lose 15 Republicans” in the Senate but would win some Democrats because “she’s very pro-labor.” We are focused on Senate HELP Chair Cassidy and think that he is coming around to supporting DeRemer despite expressing concerns about her nomination.

Trump Fires Biden’s Democratic Appointees at NLRB and EEOC 

On January 27th, President Trump fired National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) acting Chair Gwynne Wilcox and General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo. Wilcox filed a lawsuit challenging her firing last Wednesday, while Abruzzo issued a statement warning that if the NLRB fails to meet its mandate, workers might take matters into their own hands to ensure dignity in the workplace. On February 1st, Trump also fired acting General Counsel Jessica Rutter and appointed William B. Cowen as acting NLRB General Counsel. Wilcox’s dismissal left the NLRB without a quorum. 

On January 28^th, President Trump fired Democratic Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) Commissioners Jocelyn Samuels and Charlotte Burrows, ending the Democratic majority at the EEOC. Trump also fired EEOC General Counsel Karla Gilbride and replaced her on February 4^th with Andrew Rogers as acting EEOC General Counsel. Following the firings, the EEOC posted a new webpage entitled, “The State of the EEOC and Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)” that confirmed the EEOC’s loss of a quorum but assured that the agency would continue enforcing federal anti-discrimination laws and processing discrimination charges.  

Energy Secretary Wright Issues Order to “Unleash American Energy”

Last Thursday, Energy Secretary Chris Wright signed his first Secretarial Order directing the Department of Energy (DOE) to “take immediate action to unleash American Energy” by expanding energy production, reducing energy costs, and leading in innovation and technology breakthroughs by accelerating the work of the Department’s National Laboratories, among other things. The Secretarial Order announces the following nine actions: (1) “Advance Energy Addition, Not Subtraction” by eliminating net-zero emissions policies; (2) “Unleash American Energy Innovation” by reviewing the Department’s Research & Development (R&D) portfolio to focus the Department’s R&D towards technologies that prioritize “affordable, reliable, and secure energy technologies, including fossil fuels, advanced nuclear, geothermal, and hydropower” and “true technological breakthroughs – such as nuclear fusion, high-performance computing, quantum computing, and AI”; (3) “Return to Regular Order on LNG [Liquefied Natural Gas] Exports”; (4) “Promote Affordability and Consumer Choice in Home Appliances” by initiating a review of the DOE Appliance Standards Program; (5) “Refill the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR)”; (6) “Modernize America’s nuclear stockpile”; (7) “Unleash Commercial Nuclear Power in the United States”; (8) “Strengthen Grid Reliability and Security”; and (9) “Streamline Permitting and Identify Undue Burdens on American Energy” by expediting the approval and construction of “reliable energy infrastructure.”

Interior Secretary Burgum Begins Implementation of Trump EO Declaring Energy Emergency

Last Tuesday, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum began implementing President Trump’s Executive Order declaring an Energy Emergency by issuing six Secretarial Orders. Under Secretary’s Order 3417, the Interior Department (DOI) will immediately identify all authorities available to: (1) facilitate the identification, permitting, leasing, development, production, transportation, refining, distribution, exporting, and generation of domestic energy resources and critical minerals; and (2) expedite the completion of all authorized and appropriated infrastructure, energy, environmental, and natural resources projects. Under Secretary’s Order 3418, the Secretary directs a review of all appropriations from the Inflation Reduction Act and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to ensure consistency with President Trump’s energy dominance policies, directs a review of all domestic mining and processing of non-fuel minerals, and updates the U.S. Geological Survey’s list of critical minerals and accelerates the ongoing geological mapping of the country. Secretary’s Order 3419 initiates a DOI-wide review of all programs and regulations that contribute to increased costs of living, focusing on ways to “eliminate harmful, coercive climate policies and lower the cost of energy.” Secretary’s Order 3420 directs immediate compliance with President Trump’s order opening the Outer Continental Shelf to oil and gas leasing. Secretary’s Order 3421 directs DOI to support the Trump Administration’s deregulation agenda as outlined in President Trump’s January 20, 2025 Executive Order “Unleashing Prosperity Through Deregulation” by eliminating at least ten existing regulations for every new one introduced. Finally, Secretary’s Order 3422 reinstates the May 31, 2017 Secretary’s Order No. 3352, “National Petroleum Reserve – Alaska,” to prioritize the development of natural resources in Alaska on both federal and state lands. Secretary’s Order 3422 further directs an immediate review of all punitive restrictions that have targeted resource development in Alaska and requires the Interior Department to develop plans of action to carry out President Trump’s energy agenda in the state.

EPA Administrator Zeldin Outlines Trump Administration Climate Priorities 

Last Tuesday, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin announced the agency’s “Powering the Great American Comeback Initiative” outlining the EPA priorities of the Trump Administration. The initiative features the following five pillars to guide the EPA’s work over the Trump Administration’s first 100 days and after: (1) “Clean Air, Land, and Water for Every American”; (2) “Restore American Energy Dominance” to cut energy costs and “stop relying on energy sources from adversaries, while lowering costs for hardworking middle-income families, farmers, and small business owners”; (3) “Permitting Reform, Cooperative Federalism, and Cross-Agency Partnership” to streamline the “years-long, uncertain, and costly permitting processes”; (4) “Make the United States the Artificial Intelligence Capital of the World” by working to “ensure data centers and related facilities can be powered and operated in a clean manner with American-made energy”; and (5) “Protecting and Bringing Back American Auto Jobs,” through which the Trump EPA will “bring back American auto jobs and invest in domestic manufacturing to revitalize a quintessential American industry.” Additionally, the Trump EPA announced that pursuant to President Trump’s January 20, 2025 Executive Order, “Restoring Names That Honor American Greatness,” the EPA’s “Gulf of Mexico Division” has been renamed “the Gulf of America Division.” The Gulf of America program is one of the EPA’s Great Water Body programs.

DOT Memo Orders Funding to Be Prioritized for Communities with High Marriage and Birth Rates and Those Cooperating with Immigration Officials

Last Tuesday, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy issued a memorandum to Department of Transportation (DOT) staff ordering that “effective immediately” priority in DOT programs, grants, and financial assistance be given “to communities with marriage and birth rates higher than the national average.” This includes “all DOT grants, loans, contracts, and DOT-supported or assisted state contracts,” including the Federal Transit Administration’s Capital Investment Program. Secretary Duffy also directed DOT agencies to prioritize projects that “utilize user-pay models,” and “direct funding to local opportunity zones.” Secretary Duffy also intends to condition DOT funding on “local compliance or cooperation with federal immigration enforcement and with other goals and objectives specified by the President.” To effectuate this order, DOT agencies are directed to “[r]eview their existing grant agreements, loan agreements, and contracts, and, to the extent permitted by law, unilaterally amend the general terms and conditions as necessary to ensure…consistency with this Order.” They are also directed to revise language in all DOT awards, grants, loan agreements, and financial assistance going forward to be consistent with this order.

Trump Signs EO Mandating Agencies Repeal 10 Existing Regulations for Every New Regulation Issued

On January 31^st, President Trump signed an Executive Order on deregulation requiring each federal agency to identify ten existing rules, regulations, or guidance to be repealed for every rule, regulation, or guidance it promulgates. According to a White House fact sheet, the order directs the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to ensure standardized measurement and estimation of regulatory costs for each new rule, and that for fiscal year 2025, “the total incremental cost of all new regulations, including repealed regulations, be significantly less than zero.”

White House Causes Widespread Confusion with Memo Halting Federal Funds

On January 29^th, the White House rescinded an Office of Management and Budget (OMB) memo issued on January 27^th freezing federal grants and loans until the Trump Administration could conduct a review of over 2,600 federal programs for their compliance with President Trump’s policies and priorities. The rescission followed a federal judge’s decision on January 28^th to block the freeze. On February 3rd, the same federal judge extended this injunction, expressing concern that the freeze may persist at some agencies. A separate federal judge in Rhode Island also blocked the memo on January 31st, arguing that the underlying policy remained in force despite its rescission, pointing to a tweet by White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirming the freeze remained in effect.

On February 3rd, the Justice Department filed a court order stating the Trump Administration interpreted the Rhode Island judge’s ruling as not blocking Trump’s Executive Orders. Despite this filing, as of the end of last week, funding for several key EPA programs remained on hold. To date, the EPA has not issued information on which programs funded by the Inflation Reduction Act and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law have been unfrozen, sparking confusion among award recipients and on Capitol Hill. Nonprofit groups and state agencies insist that they still lacked access to the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) climate and infrastructure grant awards.Reports that the funding remains blocked come as U.S. District Court Judge John McConnell in Rhode Island said last Thursday that he stands ready to enforce an order he issued blocking the Trump Administration from freezing federal grants, loans, and other financial assistance, saying states had a “rightful concern” that they were still unable to access money.

MCAA Issues and Interests 

Decarbonization

MCAA is focused on using the new Administration and the new Congress to revisit some of the aggressive and ill-conceived decarbonization rulemakings of the Biden Administration. 

MCAA Advocates to Rescind Biden HFC Phasedown Rule 

One of the decarbonization rules we are targeting is the Biden-era EPA’s October 11, 2024 final rule on “Phasedown of Hydrofluorocarbons: Management of Certain Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) and Substitutes Under the American Innovation and Manufacturing Act of 2020 (AIM Act).” We are pleased that on January 28^th, Rep. Neal Dunn (R-FL) introduced the MCAA-supported H. J. Res. 30, a Congressional Review Act resolution disapproving of this rule. Sen. Roger Marshall (R-KS) followed shortly after with introduction of a Senate companion resolution on February 5^th (S. J. Res. 14). As part of our advocacy, the MCAA has already transmitted letters of support to the House and Senate for these resolutions. The letters reflect the arguments MCAA has been making since this final rule issued, including stressing the fact that the final rule imposes standards that are not just costly, but in some regards impractical and unachievable. We are making the point that the regulation is overly ambitious because it assumes alternatives to HFCs that are either unaffordable or unavailable.

MCAA Lobbies in Favor of CRA to Nullify DOE Rule on Conservation Standards for Consumer Gas-Fired Instantaneous Water Heaters

MCAA is also continuing its lobbying effort in support of bicameral Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolutions (S.J. Res. 4 and H.J. Res. 20) to nullify the Department of Energy’s final rule on Energy Conservation Standards for Consumer Gas-Fired Instantaneous Water Heaters. As part of this advocacy, the MCAA publicized its letters of support for these CRA resolutions led by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Rep. Gary Palmer (R-AL). The letters reflect MCAA’s advocacy that the rule has the “potential to drastically increase prices” and “eliminate non-condensing tankless water heaters from the market” and explains that if the rule is allowed to take effect on March 11, 2025, “consumers would be forced to choose between buying more expensive models or non-instantaneous storage tank water heaters, which are typically less efficient.” 

MCAA is also making these arguments to Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) to get them to prioritize precious Senate floor time for a vote on this resolution as the Senate juggles many priorities ranging from President Trump’s nominees to budget reconciliation and plans to fund the government after March 14^th. 

DOE Extends Comment Deadline on 2024 LNG Export Study

On February 5^th, the Department of Energy (DOE) announced that it is extending—from February 18, 2025 to March 20, 2025—the comment deadline for its December 20, 2024 Federal Register notice in connection with a multi-volume study of the potential effects of U.S. liquified natural gas exports on: (1) the domestic economy; (2) U.S. households and consumers; (3) communities that live near locations where natural gas is produced or exported; (4) domestic and international energy security, including effects on U.S. trading partners; and (5) the environment and climate. The full study can be accessed on DOE’s website. Comments are now due by March 20, 2025 and should be submitted on DOE’s website.

DOT Secretary Duffy Directs NHTSA to Propose the Recission or Replacement of Fuel Economy Standards

On January 29^th, shortly after being confirmed, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy signed a memorandum directing the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to “propose the rescission or replacement of any fuel economy standards” necessary to bring the rules in line with Trump’s priority of promoting oil and biofuel. Secretary Duffy explained the order was necessary because “the existing CAFE standards promulgated by NHTSA are contrary to Administration policy.”

DOE Delays Effective Date for Final Rule Regarding Test Procedures for Central Air Conditioners and Heat Pumps 

The Department of Energy (DOE) announced that it has delayed—from February 6, 2025 to March 21, 2025—the effective date for its January 25, 2025 final rule to amend the federal test procedure for central air conditioners and heat pumps to incorporate by reference the latest versions of the applicable industry standards. DOE is also seeking comments on any further delay of the effective date, including the impacts of such delay, as well as comments on the legal, factual, or policy issues raised by the rule. DOE states that it is delaying this final rule pursuant to President Trump’s January 20, 2025 memorandum, “Regulatory Freeze Pending Review” that directed the heads of federal agencies to postpone for sixty days the effective date for any rules that have been published in the Federal Register but had not yet taken effect to review “any questions of fact, law, and policy that the rules may raise.” The final rule is now effective beginning March 21, 2025. Comments on a further delay and any issues raised by the rule are due by March 7, 2025 and should be submitted by email to ApplianceStandardsQuestions@ee.doe.gov.

FHWA Announces Suspension of $5 Billion Biden Electric Vehicle Charging Network Initiative 

In a letter sent to state transportation directors, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) on February 7^th said that the Department of Transportation (DOT) is rescinding all guidance related to the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program and updating the guidance to align with current U.S. DOT policy and priorities. The $5 billion NEVI program was funded by already allocated and approved Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funds, with a goal of filling holes in EV charging infrastructure around the country. More than $3 billion has already been disbursed to states under the program. In the letter, the FHWA said new guidance will be published for public comment in the spring but that “no new obligations may occur” under the existing program.

Federal Contracting 

DOL Halts Action on Federal Contractor Discrimination Cases After Trump EO Rescinding Affirmative Action for Federal Contractors 

On January 24^th, acting Labor Secretary Vince Micone signed Secretary’s Order No. 03-2025 stating that since the issuance of President Trump’s Executive Order (EO) rescinding EO 11246, “Equal Employment Opportunity” (September 24, 1965) “DOL no longer has any authority under the rescinded Executive Order” and all DOL employees are to “immediately cease and desist all investigative and enforcement activity under the rescinded Executive Order 11246, Equal Employment Opportunity (September 24, 1965).” This includes “all pending cases, conciliation agreements, investigations, complaints, and any other enforcement-related or investigative activity.” Moreover, DOL staff was directed to “[n]otify all regulated parties with impacted open reviews or investigations by January 31, 2025, that the EO 11246 component of the review or investigation has been closed and the Section 503 and Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act components of the review or investigation are being held in abeyance pending further guidance.”

Fifth Circuit Upholds Biden’s $15/Hour Minimum Wage for Federal Contractors 

Last Tuesday, the Louisiana-based U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the Biden Administration’s $15/hour minimum wage for federal contractors, finding that the order was a permissible exercise of former President Biden’s authority under the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act. This decision follows a Ninth Circuit decision that Biden lacked authority to impose this minimum wage requirement on contractors and vacating the Labor Department rule implementing the contractor wage order. A third challenge to the $15/hour minimum wage order was rejected by the Tenth Circuit last year and the U.S. Supreme Court declined to review that ruling a week before President Trump took office. The Fifth Circuit case is Texas v. Trump. 

Registered Apprenticeship

President Trump Signs Proclamation Declaring February “Career and Technical Education Month” and Senate Passes Related Resolution 

Last Wednesday, President Trump signed a proclamation that declares February 2025 “Career and Technical Education Month.” The proclamation pledges over the next four years to “invest in the next generation and expand access to high-quality career and technical education for all Americans” by offering alternatives to higher education and training “college-aged kids in relevant skills for the 21^st century economy.” The Senate followed Trump’s signing of the proclamation by unanimously passing last Thursday S. Res. 66, A resolution supporting the goals and ideals of Career and Technical Education Month. The resolution “recognizes the importance of career and technical education in preparing a well-educated and skilled workforce in the United States” and “encourages educators, school counselors, guidance and career development professionals, administrators, and parents to promote career and technical education as a respected educational pathway for students.” 

Independent Contractors and Misclassification of Workers 

Fifth Circuit Grants Trump DOJ Request to Delay Oral Arguments in Lawsuit Challenging MCAA-Supported Independent Contractor Rule 

On January 24^th, the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals granted a request filed by the Trump Justice Department to delay oral arguments scheduled for February 5, 2025 in a lawsuit challenging the Biden Labor Department’s (DOL) MCAA-supported independent contractor final rule making it harder for employers to treat their workers as independent contractors. The Justice Department said the delay was necessary to provide the new Trump DOL “with sufficient time to familiarize” itself “with these issues and determine how they wish to proceed.” The move to delay the independent contractor hearing is the first in what may be many withdrawals from litigation involving Biden-era regulations at the Labor Department and other agencies. Other Biden-era Labor Department final rules issued within the last two years that remain in litigation include regulations on prevailing wage and overtime standards.

Project Labor Agreements

As early as today, we may learn more about the Trump Administration’s plans for Project Labor Agreements as the Trump Justice Department must file a status report in the Federal Court of Claims litigation that led to seven federal construction contracts with PLA’s being declared in violation of the Competition in Contracting Act.  We previously reported on how this decision could be used by ABC [Associated Builders and Contractors] and its members in future bid protests to challenge the requirements of President Biden’s PLA Executive Order, and how it set off furious lobbying against rescission of the Biden PLA Order. The Justice Department could announce actions specific to the seven contracts, remedial steps specific to Department of Defense contracts generally (since all seven challenged contracts were from the Pentagon), or it could indicate that it will repeal the Biden PLA Executive Order to extinguish the legal challenge. MCAA and its allies have been urging the Administration to stop short of rescinding the Executive Order and we will soon see how effective this advocacy has been.  We also understand that there are additional bid protest cases in process on which decisions may soon be rendered, adding additional complexities to this advocacy on PLAs.

Other Interesting Things Since Our Last Report 

February 7, 2025

• In their earnings calls this week several of the biggest spenders on the data centers powering artificial intelligence (AI) systems all said they would increase their investments in 2025 after record outlays last year. Microsoft, Google, and Meta projected combined capital expenditures of at least $215 billion for their current fiscal years, an annual increase of more than 45%. Additionally, Amazon indicated that its total capex [capital expenditures] across its businesses is on course to grow to more than $100 billion and said most of the increase will be for AI. These statements are especially notable given recent investor anxiety over the impact of China’s DeepSeek and whether U.S. companies will garner returns on AI justifying these unprecedented expenditures.

February 6, 2025 

• The Energy Department announced the following senior staff appointments, among others: (1) Steven Winberg as Acting Secretary, Office of the Under Secretary for Infrastructure; (2) Cathleen Tripodi as Executive Director, Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations; (3) Joseph Alexander as Chief of Staff, Grid Deployment Office; (4) John Sneed as Director, Loan Programs Office; (5) Alexander Fitzsimmons as Chief of Staff, Office of the Secretary; and (6) Eric Mahroum as Director, State And Community Energy Programs.

• Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) met with United Automobile Workers President Shawn Fain to discuss working together on pro-labor priorities, including Hawley’s recently-released framework for a GOP pro-labor policy agenda. Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal Editorial Board criticized Hawley for adopting “left wing economics” akin to positions of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT). The news comes a day after the Coalition for a Democratic Workplace and 42 employer organizations sent a letter to the entire Senate urging Senators to reject Sen. Hawley’s pro-worker framework. The letter complained that the framework includes concepts from Sen. Bernie Sanders’s (I-VT) Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act and Senator Ed Markey’s (D-MA) Warehouse Worker Protection Act. It goes on to warn that concepts in Senator Hawley’s framework “have been rejected by Congress, the National Labor Relations Board, and the courts and face strong opposition from the regulated community for their potential devastating consequences” and will “harm the economy.” The letter came a day after Senators Moreno (R-OH), Peters (D-MI), and Booker (D-NJ) endorsed a provision in Hawley’s framework to stop employers from stalling contract negotiations.

• The Trump Justice Department filed a lawsuit against the city of Chicago, Cook County, and the state of Illinois over sanctuary laws that prohibit local law enforcement from aiding Immigration and Customs Enforcement in arresting undocumented immigrants. The Justice Department argues that the local laws are “designed to and in fact interfere with and discriminate against the federal government’s enforcement of federal immigration law in violation of the Supremacy Clause of the United States Constitution.”

• Federal Election Commission (FEC) Commissioner and Chair Ellen Weintraub said that President Trump has moved to fire her in letter posted on X (formerly Twitter) and indicated that she would not leave her post without a legal fight. According to Weintraub’s post on X, the letter states that she is “hereby removed as a Member of the Federal Election Commission, effective immediately.” In response, Weintraub stated that there is a “legal way to replace FEC commissioners-this isn’t it.”

February 5, 2025

• House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chair James Comer (R-KY) announced that the mayors of Boston, Chicago, Denver, and New York City will attend a committee hearing on March 5, 2025 to discuss their cities’ sanctuary policies, which allow a jurisdiction to limit its cooperation with federal immigration enforcement officials.
  
• The AFL-CIO, the American Federation of Government Employees, and the Economic Policy Institute filed a lawsuit to block the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) from gaining entry to the Labor Department’s computer systems. The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia argues that DOGE’s plans to attempt to access the DOL’s sensitive information systems are being carried out without legal authority and in violation of the Privacy Act and the Administrative Procedure Act.

• The Commerce Department reported that in 2024 the U.S. trade deficit in goods hit a record $1.2 trillion, as imports of goods and services grew 6.6% to a record $4.1 trillion. U.S. exports of goods and services to the world also hit a record, reaching $3.2 trillion in 2024. The import surge was driven by historic sales of U.S. services, like business and financial advising, as well as foreign spending on travel in the United States. Meanwhile, Statistics Canada reported that its trade surplus with the U.S. expanded in December and that its global trade surplus was $708 million Canadian.

• The Transportation Department’s (DOT) Office of the Inspector General (OIG) announced the release of its audit of DOT’s assessed need to hire more than 1,400 employees in its Surface Transportation Operating Administrations and Office of the Secretary of Transportation (OST) to support Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL)-related surface transportation workforce needs between fiscal years 2022 and 2026. The OIG found that DOT can improve workforce planning procedures and metrics for estimating needs and capacity to deliver BIL programs and made two recommendations: (1) the development and implementation of guidance for DOT Operating Administrations and OST that addresses methods for estimating workforce needs and standards for documenting these planning procedures; and (2) the revision of departmental BIL hiring reports to include the current number of onboard BIL employees in addition to reports on BIL hiring selections.

February 4, 2025

• Regional managers with the General Services Administration received a message from the agency’s Washington, D.C. headquarters last week to begin terminating leases on all of the roughly 7,500 federal offices nationwide. The order seems to contradict President Trump’s own return-to-office mandate for federal employees but may reflect the Trump Administration’s belief that it won’t need as many offices due to its efforts to fire employees or encourage them to resign.

• A recent study from Heartland Forward found that the influx of federal funding for semiconductor manufacturing has helped remake several cities’ economies and workforce development programs, especially those cities designated as tech and innovation hubs in the CHIPS and Science Act or that invest in research into emerging technologies like generative artificial intelligence. 

February 3, 2025 

• President Trump agreed to a 30-day pause (until March 4, 2025) on his 25% tariff threats against Mexico and Canada after Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau took steps to address his concerns about border security and drug trafficking. The 10% tariffs that Trump ordered on China, however, went into effect on February 4^th. Following the imposition of the 10% tariffs on Chinese goods, China imposed targeted tariffs on U.S. imports and put several companies, including Google, on notice for possible sanctions. China said it would implement a 15% tariff on coal and liquefied natural gas products, as well as a 10% tariff on crude oil, agricultural machinery, and large-engine cars imported from the U.S.

• House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) sent a “Dear Colleague” letter detailing portions of House Democrats’ ten-part plan to counter President Trump’s moves to “upend the federal bureaucracy.” Notably, the plan includes preventing “any effort to steal taxpayer money from the American people, end Medicaid as we know it, or defund programs important to everyday Americans,” and includes a promise to introduce legislation to “prevent unlawful access to the Department of Treasury Bureau of the Fiscal Service payment system that contains highly confidential and personal information related to Social Security and Medicare recipients, taxpayers, households, nonprofits, businesses and federal contractors.” The plan also states that House Budget Committee Democrats will “battle Republicans at the anticipated legislative hearing where the GOP will unveil a scheme to cut taxes for their billionaire donors and wealthy corporations while sticking working-class Americans with the bill.”

• As the 2026 election cycle begins, Roll Call reported that the senators facing the most competitive re-election fights ended 2024 with modest war chests, including Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME) with $2.6 million, Thom Tillis (R-NC) with $2.2 million, Jon Ossoff (D-GA) with $5 million, and Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) with $1.5 million. 

January 31, 2025

• The Trump Transportation Department announced the following slate of presidential appointees to lead the department, including: (1) Charles (Pete) Meachum as Chief of Staff; (2) Ryan McCormack as Deputy Chief of Staff; (3) Loren Smith as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Transportation Policy; (4) Gregory Cote as Principal Deputy General Counsel; and, of particular interest to MCAA, (5) Benjamin Kochman as acting Administrator of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration.

January 30, 2025 

• The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a new, non-opioid, non-addictive class of pain relief medication called Journavx (suzetrigine) that was developed by Vertex Pharmaceuticals. The new drug reduced pain by targeting a pain-signaling pathway involving sodium channels in the peripheral nervous system, before pain signals reach the brain. It is the result of FDA efforts to develop non-opioid pain relievers through an expedited drug development and review process.

January 29, 2025

• President Trump signed the Laken Riley Act into law mandating the detention of aliens in the U.S. illegally when they are arrested (not convicted) of theft and other crimes. The same day, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published a “Finding of Mass Influx of Aliens” that invokes a 1996 provision for the expansion of the 287(g) program that deputizes state and local law enforcement to aid with immigration enforcement operations. Under current regulations, DHS is authorized to request immigration enforcement assistance from a state or local government “under certain specified circumstances,” including a determination that “an actual or imminent mass influx of aliens [are] arriving off the coast or near a land border of the United States.” The issuance of the finding “serves as a call to action to jurisdictions that have expressed a desire to implement President Donald Trump’s mass deportation agenda” and will likely lead to DHS revising existing 287(g) agreements to expand state and local law enforcement’s immigration enforcement authorities.

• The Trump Administration said that it will aim for “greater transparency” in Medicare drug price negotiations, indicating plans to move forward with the second round of the program initiated by the Biden Administration. Relatedly, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a press release stating that as the second cycle of the Program begins, CMS “intends to provide opportunities for stakeholders to provide specific ideas to improve the Negotiation Program, consistent with the goals of achieving greater value for beneficiaries and taxpayers and continuing to foster innovation.” 

• Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Susan Collins (R-ME) and Ranking Member Patty Murray (D-WA) announced the leadership and roster for the 12 Senate appropriations subcommittees for the 119^th Congress. These subcommittee chairs will play an important role in the ongoing negotiations over funding the government past March 14^th, when the current funding resolution passed at the end of last year expires.

• Roll Call took a look at incumbent senators who may announce retirements this cycle, including Sens. Mitch McConnell (R-KY), John Cornyn (R-TX), Jack Reed (D-RI), and Dick Durbin (D-IL).  

January 28, 2025

• The Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released its annual report on union membership in the United States. The report revealed that the percentage of American workers in unions dropped to a record low of 9.9% in 2024, while the total number of workers in a union declined by about 10,000 members. The decline comes as the U.S. workforce added 2.2 million jobs in 2024, with non-union positions growing at a faster pace than union jobs. The BLS data also showed that non-union workers had median weekly earnings that were 15% less than earnings for union workers ($1,138 versus $1,337). Among occupations with the highest rates of union membership in 2024, construction ranks third at 15.4% behind were education, training, and library occupations (32.3%) and protective service occupations (29.6%). The most unionized states were Hawaii and New York with union membership rates of 26.5% and 20.6%, respectively. The least unionized states were North Carolina (2.4%), South Dakota (2.7%), and South Carolina (2.8%).

• Drugmakers raised the list prices of more than 800 prescription drugs for blood pressure, cancer and other conditions by a median 4% at the start of this year—a half percent less than last year’s median price increase. The modestly reduced increase is being attributed to drugmakers’ desire to avoid criticism from President Trump while they lobby his Administration to support their priorities, such as addressing rebates given to pharmacy benefit managers and altering a federal program providing discounts to certain hospitals.

January 25, 2025

• Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) invited President Trump to address a joint session of Congress on Tuesday March 4^th. The speech is not technically considered a State of the Union, but presidents since Ronald Reagan have delivered similar addresses shortly after their inaugurations that have been handled with similar pomp and circumstance.

January 24, 2025

• President Trump fired inspectors general for several federal agencies, including for the Departments of Labor, Transportation, Energy, Interior, Agriculture, and Housing and Urban Development, as well as the Environmental Protection Agency and Small Business Administration. The termination of these agency watchdogs triggered bipartisan concern. Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Ranking Member Dick Durbin (D-IL) sent a letter to the Trump Administration requesting more information on Trump’s decision to fire the inspectors general, noting that the White House failed to submit the statutorily-required 30-day notice necessary when an inspector general is terminated. Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA) accused the President of breaking the law. And more than 20 House Democrats signed a letter to President Trump condemning his “late night purge” of inspectors general who are supposed to ensure that both political appointees and career civil servants at federal agencies comply with applicable laws and regulations in carrying out their duties. 

• The Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) released new data showing that the construction industry needs to attract 439,000 new workers in 2025 to meet demand, otherwise costs will rise and put some projects out of reach. The data also said that in 2026, the construction industry will need to bring in 499,000 new workers as spending picks. ABC warns that immigrants are crucial to solving this labor challenge and advocates “a merit-based, market-based visa system,” and says it wants “to work with the Trump administration and Congress to create a visa system that allows people who want to contribute to society and work legally in the construction industry to do so.”

Around the Country 

Northeast 

• On February 4^th, nearly a year after the deadly collapse of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge, Maryland officials unveiled their designs for its replacement, which will be taller and better protected against ship strikes. The project is advancing after Congress authorized full federal funding of the reconstruction in the spending bill enacted in December. Construction could be completed in 2028 and is expected to cost upwards of $1.7 billion. Officials said the project would advance in two phases, with the first focusing on the design work and other necessary steps before construction begins.

• On January 30^th, reports emerged indicating that President Trump is considering withdrawing federal support for New York City’s congestion pricing program—a move that would halt it. Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul (NY) and Trump spoke recently spoke about the toll program, though no final decision was made. 

Northwest 

• On February 6^th, Gov. Bob Ferguson (D-WA) signed an executive order establishing a working group of state officials and industry stakeholders to evaluate the impact of data centers on energy use, state tax revenue, and job creation. The order follows an investigation last year into the clean-energy and economic impacts of the state’s data center industry, which found that “data centers have grown into a major consumer of electricity in some of Washington’s greenest counties, threatening the region’s ability to meet power demand while phasing out fossil fuels.”  

West

• On February 6^th, Saikat Chakrabarti, a former aide to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), announced he would challenge Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) in the Democratic primary for California’s 11^th Congressional District, citing a deep disdain for his party’s establishment, which he said had created an environment of defeat, stagnation, and antipathy to change.

• On February 5^th, California Attorney General Rob Bonta (D) announced he will not run for governor of California, ending months of speculation about him eyeing the crowded 2026 contest. 

• On January 28^th, the Trump Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that in response to the California wildfires, it will begin removing hazardous materials from affected properties, including lithium-ion batteries and everyday products such as paints, cleaning supplies, and automotive oils; garden products such as herbicides and pesticides, batteries, including both standard and rechargeable types; and propane tanks and other pressurized gas containers. Once the EPA has cleared these items, it will begin removing debris.

• On January 24^th, as he toured fire damage around Los Angeles, President Trump discussed the federal role in rebuilding, saying, “There can be no Golden Age without the Golden State.” Trump also emphasized the importance of readying the city for World Cup matches in 2026 and the Olympic Games in 2028. Trump’s tone in Los Angeles noticeably diverged from the language in an Executive Order (EO) issued on January 24th directing federal agencies to override California’s water policies as needed—slamming the state’s handling of the Los Angeles region’s wildfires and its water management policies. The EO also prioritizes water projects in California.

Midwest 

• On February 5^th, Ohio Treasurer Robert Sprague (R) endorsed Vivek Ramaswamy’s still-unannounced bid for governor of Ohio, after speculation that Sprague could mount his own campaign to replace term-limited incumbent Gov. Mike DeWine (R). In an accompanying video, Sprague praised Ramaswamy’s “outsider mentality” and his vision to “create a renaissance in the state of Ohio.”

• On January 28^th, Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI) announced he will not seek a third term in the U.S. Senate in 2026, creating a highly contested battleground seat in the midterm elections. Former Biden Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is reportedly “taking a serious look” at running for the Michigan Senate seat following Peters’ retirement announcement.

• On January 27^th, the Trump Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced an agreement with Springfield, Illinois requiring the city to expand and correct its groundwater monitoring program, address potential releases of heavy metals associated with coal ash material, and analyze the structural stability of the surface impoundments before closing them to ensure the City Water, Light and Power coal-fired power plant fully complies with the agency’s coal combustion residual program.

Southeast

• On January 28^th, Trump-endorsed candidates in Florida won their Republican primaries. In the race for Florida’s 1^st Congressional District, Jimmy Patronis fended off a challenge from former state Rep. Joel Rudman and will face Democrat Gay Valimont in the April 1 special election. In the race for Florida’s 6^th Congressional District, Randy Fine fended off challenges from two other Republicans and will face Democrat Josh Weil on April 1^st.

• On January 28^th, Gainesville, Georgia Mayor Sam Couvillon (R) announced he will challenge Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-GA) in the Republican primary for Georgia’s 9^th Congressional District. 

Southwest

• On February 6^th, the Cook Political Report rated eight Republican-held seats and ten Democratic-held seats as toss-ups ahead of the 2026 midterms. Among the eight Republican seats are two Arizona seats: (1) Rep. David Schweikert (AZ-1) and (2) Rep. Juan Ciscomani (AZ-6). Among the ten Democratic seats are: (1) Rep. Gabe Vasquez (NM-2) and (2) Rep. Vicente Gonzalez (TX-34).

• On February 6^th, the Trump Administration was reportedly in negotiations with Phoenix-based private shipping-container company Willscot to lease the company’s mobile structures to temporarily house undocumented detainees. Willscot’s containers are commonly used as construction-site storage and office space.