On January 28, 2025, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a final rule delaying the effective date of four rules, including the December 17, 2024, final risk management rule for trichloroethylene (TCE) issued under Section 6(a) of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), until March 21, 2025. 90 Fed. Reg. 8254. EPA states that it is delaying the effective dates of the rules in response to President Trump’s January 20, 2025, memorandum entitled “Regulatory Freeze Pending Review.” The memorandum directed the heads of executive departments and agencies to consider postponing for 60 days from the date of the memorandum the effective date for any rules published in the Federal Register that had not yet taken effect for the purpose of reviewing any questions of fact, law, and policy that the rules may raise. According to EPA, 13 petitions for review of the final TCE rule were filed in various federal appellate courts. On January 13, 2025, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals granted a petitioner’s motion to stay temporarily the TCE rule’s effective date. The petitions were then consolidated by the Judicial Panel for Multidistrict Litigation and transferred to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals. The Third Circuit issued a January 16, 2025, order leaving the temporary stay of the effective date in place pending briefing on whether the temporary stay of the effective date should remain in effect. EPA notes that because of the court decisions, the TCE rule never went into effect and is therefore also covered by the terms of the Regulatory Freeze Pending Review memorandum. As reported in our January 24, 2025, blog item, Representatives Diana Harshbarger (R-TN) and Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-IA) introduced a resolution (H.J. Res. 27) expressing congressional disapproval of EPA’s final TCE rule. The joint resolution is an attempt to use the Congressional Review Act (CRA) to overturn the rule. More information on the final TCE rule is available in our January 13, 2025, memorandum.