We're going to be cutting regulation massively... The problem with the regulation that we have right now is that you can't do anything... I have people that tell me they have more people working on regulations than they have doing product.
Watch Trump's remarks on regulatory reform sucess
How They Responded: "Trump Is Wrong"
Common Cause
NBC News
CBS NewsThe Evidence: Remarkable Cost Savings Achieved
Following the implementation of Executive Order 13771 in January 2017, which mandated agencies eliminate two old regulations for every new one, economic data showed significant results that far exceeded initial expectations. The administration's regulatory reform agenda produced quantifiable benefits for American businesses and households, particularly in areas where excessive regulations had constrained economic growth.
- Verified Cost Reductions: The Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) reported $8.1 billion in regulatory cost savings in FY 2017, rising to $23 billion in FY 2018, for a cumulative $33 billion in savings across the first two fiscal years, figures OIRA itself described as "historic and meaningful regulatory reform."
- Household Income Gains: Economic analysis cited by the Hoover Institution found the administration's deregulation and slower regulatory growth would raise U.S. real incomes by approximately $3,100 per household per year after five to ten years.
- Red Tape Reduction: The administration eliminated multiple existing regulations for every significant new one, exceeding the original "2-for-1" target established in Executive Order 13771.
These regulatory reforms contributed to broader economic strength during the pre-pandemic period, with key indicators including record-low unemployment rates, rising wages particularly for lower-income workers, and robust small business optimism. The streamlined regulatory environment played a meaningful role in supporting business expansion and job creation during this period.
Official Confirmation:
OIRA Official Accounting (FY2018): OMB / OIRA Two-Year Regulatory Cost Savings
The Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs reported $8.1 billion in net regulatory cost savings in FY 2017 and $23 billion in FY 2018, a cumulative $33 billion that OIRA characterized as "historic and meaningful regulatory reform," confirmed in independent analysis by the Brookings Institution.
View Source, Brookings analysis of OIRA accountingOIRA Final Accounting (FY2020): Regulatory Reform under Executive Order 13771
The official OIRA Final Accounting for Fiscal Year 2020 documents the full-term results of the one-in, two-out framework directly from the federal government's own regulatory-affairs office, the primary-source record that the administration met and exceeded its deregulatory targets.
View Source, reginfo.gov official PDFWhat Has Surfaced Since Trump Returned
Trump was told his deregulation crusade was reckless, that slashing federal rules would gut protections and deliver no real savings. Back in office, he didn't just repeat the effort, he supercharged it, and the official government scorecard settles the argument: the largest deregulatory year in American history, hundreds of billions in measured savings, and a return on the exact promise critics swore was empty.
He Replaced "2-for-1" With a 10-for-1 Mandate
On January 31, 2025, Trump signed Executive Order 14192, Unleashing Prosperity Through Deregulation, ordering every agency to repeal ten existing rules for each new one it issues and requiring that the total cost of new regulation for the year come in significantly below zero. It was a direct, far more aggressive successor to the 2-for-1 rule of his first term that critics had dismissed as a gimmick. Instead of retreating from the deregulation fight he was mocked for, he escalated it into the most ambitious regulatory rollback any president has ever attempted.
The White House, Fact Sheet: President Trump Launches Massive 10-to-1 Deregulation Initiative, January 2025The Official Scorecard: $211.8 Billion Saved, 129 Cuts for Every New Rule
The results were not a talking point, they were tallied by the government's own Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs. For fiscal year 2025, agencies finalized 646 deregulatory actions against just 5 new regulatory ones, a 129-to-1 ratio that obliterated the 10-to-1 target, producing $211.8 billion in net savings, more than $600 for every American. The administration saved more in under a year than in all four years of Trump's first term. The man told his deregulation agenda would deliver nothing instead delivered the biggest regulatory relief in the nation's history, exactly as promised.
U.S. Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Regulatory Reform Results for Fiscal Year 2025The Vindication: Measurable Economic Benefits Confirmed
"The 2-for-1 requirement's headline number for regulatory cost savings was $23 billion for fiscal year (FY) 2018. This estimate exceeded OIRA's own expectations, surpassing its FY 2018 goal of $687 million in savings. Focusing on FY 2018, the Trump administration claims to have achieved, on net, $23 billion in regulatory cost savings. Is that a lot of money? Compared to the $687 million target, it's certainly impressive."
Hoover Institute
Cato Institute
Senate Republican Policy CommitteeFinal Analysis
President Trump's Executive Order 13771, issued in January 2017, was met with immediate skepticism and criticism from regulatory experts, economists, and major media outlets who predicted its implementation would be impossible and potentially harmful. The "one-in, two-out" regulatory model was widely ridiculed as arbitrary and simplistic. Yet looking back, the data reveals that Trump's regulatory reform agenda delivered substantial, measurable economic benefits that exceeded expectations.
Key points supporting Trump's regulatory vision include:
- Cost Savings Exceeded Goals: The administration not only achieved its regulatory reduction targets but dramatically exceeded them, eliminating multiple regulations for every new one, far beyond the original 2-for-1 goal, with OIRA reporting $33 billion in cumulative cost savings across FY2017–FY2018 alone.
- Household Economic Benefits: Analysis cited by the Hoover Institution found deregulatory actions would raise U.S. real incomes by roughly $3,100 per household per year over five to ten years, a direct economic benefit that critics had claimed would be impossible.
- Economic Growth Support: The regulatory reforms contributed to broader economic gains during the pre-pandemic period, including record-low unemployment rates across demographics, rising wages (particularly for lower-income workers), and strong small business optimism.
- Administrative Effectiveness: Despite predictions that the order would be administratively unworkable, the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs successfully implemented the framework across government agencies, proving that regulatory discipline was achievable.
- Maintained Critical Protections: Contrary to dire predictions, the administration's regulatory reform maintained essential environmental, health, and safety standards while targeting duplicative, outdated, and overly burdensome requirements.
While reasonable debate continues about specific regulatory decisions, the overarching economic impact of Trump's regulatory reform agenda has been validated by the empirical evidence. His assertion that excessive regulations were harming American businesses and limiting economic growth was proven correct by the measurable benefits that followed implementation of Executive Order 13771, delivering real economic value to American businesses and households.
