In a flurry of last-minute activity, the Biden administration is withdrawing a number of pending regulations, including long-awaited protections for transgender student-athletes and assistance for over 38 million student loan borrowers. The move, coming in the final weeks of Biden’s term, effectively halts the administration’s efforts to cement key policies before President-elect Donald Trump takes office in January.
The White House is expected to pull back unfinished rules across several agencies if there isn’t sufficient time to finalize them prior to the transition. Officials expressed concerns that leaving the proposed regulations in their current state would enable the incoming Trump administration to more swiftly rewrite them to align with its own agenda.
Transgender Sports Protections Withdrawn
Among the most notable casualties is a proposed Education Department rule aimed at providing guidelines for transgender students’ participation in school sports. The regulation, first introduced in 2023, sought to prevent schools from issuing blanket bans on transgender athletes while still allowing some limits based on factors like fairness in competition and injury risks.
In explaining its decision to withdraw the proposal, the department cited ongoing litigation surrounding the interpretation of Title IX, the landmark gender equity law, with respect to gender identity issues. Officials also noted the over 150,000 public comments on the rule, including many suggesting modifications that would require further consideration.
At this point, we do not intend for a final rule to be issued.
U.S. Department of Education statement
Critics argue that by abandoning the rule, the Biden administration is ceding ground on a contentious issue that became a rallying cry for conservatives. During the presidential campaign, Trump vowed to ban transgender athletes outright, pledging to “keep men out of women’s sports.”
Student Debt Relief Left Unfinished
Also among the dropped regulations is Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan, which would have erased up to $20,000 in federal student debt for tens of millions of Americans. The program, a signature campaign promise, faced legal challenges that have left it in limbo.
While some advocates held out hope that the administration would find a way to push through the debt cancellation before leaving office, the White House appears to have concluded that the issue will need to be settled by the courts or revisited by the next president.
Transition Period Tactics Scrutinized
The Biden team’s decision to pull back these and other regulations has drawn criticism from the President-elect’s allies, who accuse the White House of “adding more red tape” and impeding the new administration’s ability to govern from day one.
It’s not unusual for administrations to speed up or slow down rulemaking during a transition. But typically, the federal government races to finalize regulations, not withdraw them.
Kate Shaw, former White House counsel’s office
Defenders argue that given the truncated transition timeline, the administration had little choice but to clear the decks of unfinished business. Any regulation left hanging would be a ripe target for the Trump team to either scrap entirely or dramatically overhaul.
Stage Set for New Policy Battles
Though the withdrawal of these proposals may prove a short-term setback for advocacy groups, it could ultimately delay but not prevent the next president from rolling back the policies that Biden sought to enact.
- Any regulation introduced by Trump would have to proceed through the same lengthy rulemaking process.
- Litigation over transgender rights and student debt is expected to continue into the next administration.
As both sides regroup, the fight over the scope and direction of federal regulation – from civil rights to education to the environment – now shifts to a new political landscape. With Republicans poised to control the House and Trump preparing for his White House return, the late-breaking regulatory pullback sets the stage for pitched policy battles ahead.
