The U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ” or the “Department”) announced that, effective September 11, 2025, it is withdrawing several dozen Notices of Proposed Rulemaking (“NPRMs”), Advance Notices of Proposed Rulemaking, and Supplemental Notices of Proposed Rulemaking. The Department explained that it is “withdrawing these actions as part of the Federal Government’s deregulatory initiative and because of ongoing assessments of agency needs, priorities, and objectives.” The list of withdrawn proposed regulations includes rulemaking actions related to controlled substances, firearms, criminal justice, healthcare, immigration, asset forfeiture, and disability discrimination, among other topics.
Notably, the NPRM that would have made significant changes to the regulations concerning the application of the Foreign Agents Registration Act (“FARA”) for the first time in decades was not on the list of regulations withdrawn by DOJ. The FARA community has wondered about the fate of the proposed FARA changes, which were unveiled shortly before President Trump took office in January 2025. Other than releasing the public’s comments that were filed in response to the NPRM in March 2025, the Department has been entirely silent about the proposed regulations and their potential fate. The decision not to withdraw the pending proposed rules is potentially an indication that the proposed rule changes may still have a future, and it may indicate that DOJ is continuing to consider moving forward with all or part of the proposed FARA regulations, such as those that provide additional clarity to the statute.
As we previously reported, the FARA NRPM would make significant changes to the existing FARA regulations and considerably increase the Department’s ability to use its own discretion to decide whether a given set of activities requires registration and reporting under FARA. The NPRM also addressed several important topics that have long confused the regulated community, such as the current regulations’ lack of clarity regarding the labeling and filing requirements for online informational materials.
If DOJ were to proceed with additional regulatory action, that could be consistent with Attorney General Pam Bondi’s February 5, 2025 memorandum, which directed DOJ to “focus on civil enforcement, regulatory initiatives, and public guidance” (emphasis added) with respect to FARA. So, while the Department has not clearly communicated the status of the FARA NPRM, it appears that it will remain under consideration, for now.
If you have any questions concerning the material discussed in this client alert, please contact the following members of our Election and Political Law practice.
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