"The Trump administration has been rushing to finalize environmental rules by mid-May to bulletproof them from future Democratic overturn, but the COVID-19 pandemic may throw off that schedule.

Should Democrats take control of the Senate and the White House after this fall's elections, they could undo rules the Trump administration completed within 60 legislative days of the new term using the Congressional Review Act.

While it is difficult to predict the congressional calendar in an election year, the pandemic caused by the novel coronavirus makes that timeline even more unclear.

'I think they will still be able to clear the decks on the regulatory reform agenda but just not in time for the rest of them to be shielded from the Congressional Review Act,' said Tom Pyle, who headed President Trump's energy transition team. 'That only matters, of course, if the Democrats retake the Senate.'"

Kelsey Brugger reports for Greenwire April 9, 2020. [2]