Congress speeds up blocking late-term rules with bundled disapproval votes
S. 164 — Midnight Rules Relief Act of 2025 · Filed by Ron Johnson (R-WI) · 6 cosponsors · Introduced Jan 21, 2025 · Reported out
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What it does
This bill amends the Congressional Review Act (CRA) to allow Congress to disapprove multiple 'midnight rules'—regulations issued in the final year of a presidential term—in a single joint resolution, rather than requiring separate votes on each rule. Currently, each rule needs its own disapproval resolution; this change streamlines the process by bundling them together for one en bloc vote.
Why we flagged it
The bill is a narrow procedural change to the Congressional Review Act, not a substantive policy measure. It does not create new law or regulate conduct; it modifies how Congress votes on existing disapproval authority.
What the text implies
- Bundling midnight rules into single resolutions may reduce individual scrutiny of each rule, allowing disapproval of protective regulations that might survive standalone votes.
- The change applies only to rules submitted in a President's final year, creating asymmetric procedural advantage for Congressional Review of late-term executive action.
- En bloc voting reduces amendment opportunities and debate time per rule, potentially suppressing deliberation on complex or controversial regulations.
Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.
Who it affects
The bill makes Congressional disapproval of midnight rules procedurally easier, which can be a check on executive overreach—a democratic accountability benefit. However, bundling rules into single votes may reduce deliberation on individual regulations and could enable disapproval of rules that would have survived individual scrutiny, potentially harming public protections if midnight rules include consumer, environmental, or labor safeguards.
Named in the bill
Congress, Senate, Congressional Review Act (CRA), Title 5 United States Code, Section 801, Section 802
Where it stands
6 cosponsors: 6 Republicans.
- Jan 21, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in Senate”
- Jan 21, 2025 — Referred to Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs · Congress.gov: “Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs”
- Aug 6, 2026 — Reported out of committee · Congress.gov: “Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. Ordered to be reported without amendment favorably”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (1,368 characters) on Aug 20, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,222 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
As of — page rendered 2026-10-20.
“Congress speeds up blocking late-term rules with bundled disapproval votes” QuorumCivic. https://share.quorumcivic.app/bill/119/s164 Report an error
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