Free-Market Fox Nominated to Henhouse Post

Susan E. Dudley, the "Regulatory Studies Director" at the anti-regulatory think tank the Mercatus Center and a self-proclaimed "free-market environmentalist," has been nominated by the White House to "a little known but powerful post at the Office of Management and Budget." If confirmed by the Senate, Dudley will head the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), which "reviews major agency regulations with an eye toward reducing compliance costs, and according to critics, easing burdens on companies." Dudley and Mercatus have been "very active" on OIRA issues, notes the Wall Street Journal. "Ultimately, 14 of the 23 rules the White House chose for its 2001 'hit list' were Mercatus entries."