In the last hours of his presidency, John Adams appointed what came to be known as "midnight judges." Jimmy Carter invented "midnight regulations." Every subsequent outgoing president has tried to perpetuate his policies by last-minute rules the next president has a hard time getting rid of. Bill Clinton strengthened environmental protections and locked up federal lands from development. George Bush complained about it, as every president does, but now Bush is doing the same thing. Based on the lessons learned eight years ago, he may be doing it more effectively, which means that Barack Obama will face a harder time making "change." We find out why.
Bush, the Midnight Regulator
Credits
Guests:
- Joaquin Sapien - Reporter, ProPublica
- Elizabeth Kolbert - covers the environment for the New Yorker - @ElizKolbert
- Jeffrey Holmstead - Bracewell and Giuliani
- Noah Greenwald - Center for Biological Diversity - @CenterForBioDiv