Order Tasks OMB Director With Reorganizing Executive Branch, Eliminating Agencies Where Necessary
President Donald Trump on March 13 issued an executive order (here) instructing Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Mick Mulvaney to draw up a plan to reorganize governmental functions and eliminate unnecessary agencies, agency components and agency programs. Per the order, every agency head must send the OMB director a plan to reorganize their agency to improve efficiency, effectiveness and accountability, by Sept. 9. Further, the order tasks the OMB director with publishing a Federal Register notice seeking public comment on ways to improve the organization and functioning of the executive branch. Then, the director within 180 days of the closing of the comment period must submit a proposal including legislative and/or administrative recommendations to the president for reorganization of the executive branch to enhance the “efficiency, effectiveness, and accountability of agencies,” according to the executive order.
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The OMB director is tasked with considering the redundancy of agencies’ functions, cost-benefit analyses of agency functions, and whether agencies’ functions are better left to state or local governments or private business, according to the order. It's initially unclear how, if at all, the executive order would affect CBP trade functions. "Since this was just signed yesterday, and agency heads have 180 days to propose plans, CBP['s Office of Trade] will not speculate at this time on what this change may or may not look like," a CBP spokeswoman said.