The Trump Rules — How a President Rewrote America Without Passing a Single Law

"When you control the interpretation of a law, you don't need to change the law. You become the law."— an unspoken truth of the modern presidency

In the chaos of Trump’s first term—amid the noise of tweets, scandals, and near-daily constitutional crises—there was a quieter revolution unfolding. Not in Congress. Not at the Supreme Court. But in the Federal Register.

Here, under the radar of the average citizen, Trump's administration methodically rewrote hundreds of federal rules—rules that govern how our laws are interpreted and enforced. It was an autocracy not of kingship, but of bureaucracy. And it was legal. It still is.

This is not the story of how Trump tried and failed to build a wall through legislation.This is the story of how he used rule changes to reshape the very architecture of American life—without passing a single major law.

The Mechanism: The Administrative State as Presidential Instrument

Let’s recall the structure: federal agencies—like the EPA, DHS, DOE, or NLRB—are empowered by Congress but directed by presidential appointees. These agencies enforce the law by creating rules that interpret it. And those rules, once passed, have the full force of law.

Presidents don’t need Congress to change policy.They just need compliant boards, obedient appointees, and a 30-day comment period.

Trump understood this better than any president in modern memory—perhaps since FDR.

A New Wall Built From Paper

Trump’s most visible legislative failure was immigration reform. But behind the scenes, his agencies implemented one of the most sweeping shifts in immigration policy in decades.

* The “Public Charge” Rule: The Department of Homeland Security redefined who qualified as a "public charge," making it harder for legal immigrants to receive green cards if they had used public benefits like Medicaid.

* “Remain in Mexico” Policy: Via DHS and DOJ memos, asylum seekers were required to wait in Mexico for their U.S. hearings—an operational shift that didn't need new legislation.

* Asylum Restrictions: Multiple DOJ rule changes narrowed grounds for asylum, excluding those fleeing gang or domestic violence.

Congress said no to the wall.Trump built an invisible one with paperwork.

Crippling Workers via the NLRB

Trump’s National Labor Relations Board—stacked 3-2 in his favor—waged a silent war on organized labor.

* Joint Employer Rule Rollback: Trump’s NLRB reversed an Obama-era rule that held parent companies accountable for violations by their franchisees and contractors.

* Restrictions on Union Rights: New rules made it harder for workers to form unions and easier for employers to delay elections.

* Religious Exemptions Expanded: Agencies redefined employer obligations, allowing companies to cite religious beliefs to deny coverage or benefits.

Trump didn’t need a “right to work” law. He simply hollowed out the labor board’s enforcement mechanisms.

Environment: Dismantling the EPA from Within

Congress wouldn't pass legislation to gut environmental protections.So Trump used the EPA to reinterpret them into irrelevance.

* Waters of the U.S. Rule Repealed: This limited the EPA’s jurisdiction, letting polluters bypass Clean Water Act oversight.

* Methane Emissions Rules Weakened: Oil and gas companies gained new freedom to leak methane—among the most potent greenhouse gases.

* Cost-Benefit Analysis Manipulation: A bureaucratic sleight of hand allowed the EPA to devalue environmental benefits and inflate regulatory costs, giving cover to deregulation.

The laws stayed.But the rules made them toothless.

Education & Civil Rights: Shrinking the Reach of Equity

Under Betsy DeVos, the Department of Education executed a rollback of civil rights enforcement through rule reinterpretation.

* Title IX Rule Changes: Narrowed the definition of sexual harassment and raised the burden of proof for victims in campus hearings.

* Special Education Funding Reallocations: Shifted how funds could be used, disproportionately affecting underserved school districts.

* Charter School Expansion: Rules were rewritten to fast-track charter approval processes, often at the expense of public oversight.

DeVos didn’t rewrite the Civil Rights Act—she just instructed the department to enforce it differently.

The Bureaucratic Coup: Schedule F and the Deep State Purge

In the waning days of his presidency, Trump attempted his most dangerous move yet: Schedule F.

* This executive order would have reclassified tens of thousands of federal civil servants as political appointees—removing their job protections.

* The goal: to politicize the bureaucracy and purge the so-called “Deep State.”

* Though it was never fully implemented, the blueprint remains on the shelf—and Trump has pledged to reinstate it if re-elected.

Why It Worked—and Why It’s So Hard to Reverse

Here’s the catch: these rules are legal.They go through the proper notice-and-comment periods. They’re voted on by agency boards stacked by the president. They’re shielded by bureaucratic legitimacy.

And while lawsuits can challenge them, they take years. The courts are backlogged. And if a new administration arrives before a ruling, they can simply reverse the rule themselves.

This is the slow-motion warfare of modern governance:presidents battling over the rulebook every four years, rewriting the national experience without ever touching the Constitution.

The Trump Rules Are Still With Us

Many of Trump’s rules were reversed by Biden. But others from 2016 persist—quietly, stubbornly embedded in the machinery of the state. And at the halfway point of the Biden Presidency, Trump’s allies were already preparing for a second term by building a new arsenal of rule changes they could deploy on Day One.

Congress has become theater.The courts are slow.

The real battleground is the agencies.

Tomorrow is Part 3: Biden’s Reversals and the Rule War Ahead.

Carl’s Mind Chimes Magazine is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit mindchimesmagazine.substack.com/subscribe