In an August 2026 Unified Agenda entry, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) stated that it intends to complete its long-running effort to revise the regulations implementing the Foreign Agents Registration Act (“FARA”). The National Security Division (“NSD”) stated that it is considering a final rule that would adopt “many, but not all, of” the proposals contained in DOJ’s January 2025 Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“NPRM”). DOJ further indicated that the final rule is expected to “expand the availability of exemptions commonly relied upon by corporations and law firms and provide requested clarity on labeling digital media” and also “clarify ambiguities in the existing regulations, update the regulations to keep pace with technological change, and improve civil FARA administration while reducing regulatory burdens on the public.”
The quiet announcement follows a long rulemaking process that began in December 2021, when DOJ issued an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking seeking public comment on potential revisions to the FARA regulations, the first major overhaul of the FARA regulations in decades. After reviewing comments received in response to that notice, DOJ issued a comprehensive NPRM in January 2025 proposing significant changes to numerous aspects of the existing regulatory framework.
The timing of the announcement is notable. DOJ's Unified Agenda entry was released less than a week after Todd Blanche was sworn in as Attorney General, and it perhaps indicates a shift in DOJ’s posture on the statue. Former Attorney General Pam Bondi issued a directive on her first day in office that was widely viewed as curtailing of FARA’s criminal enforcement. The new announcement provides one of the first public indications of the Department's regulatory priorities under DOJ's new leadership.
The Unified Agenda notice does not provide a target publication date for a final rule, and the Department has not yet revealed the precise contours of the revisions under consideration. Nevertheless, the announcement indicates that DOJ remains committed to completing the rulemaking process and expects ultimately to adopt a substantial portion of the changes proposed in January 2025. DOJ’s emphasis on expanding key exemptions and reducing compliance burdens suggests that the final regulations may ultimately take a more measured approach than some stakeholders anticipated when the NPRM was issued in January 2025. Whether that expectation is borne out will become clearer once DOJ publishes the final rule itself.
Organizations that regularly assess FARA risk should continue monitoring the rulemaking process, as the final regulations may reshape aspects of the registration and compliance framework that have remained largely unchanged for decades.
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