Public Participation Is Key to Improving Rulemaking

For Immediate Release: January 21, 2026
Contact: David Rosen, drosen@citizen.org

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Meaningful public participation in rulemakings leads to better rules and greater trust in the regulatory process, but our nation’s regulatory system needs substantial improvements to make that possible, according to a new report from the Coalition for Sensible Safeguards (CSS).

“While the Trump administration has sought to limit public input, even the previous rulemaking process needed significant improvement. Too often, the comment process has been the domain of corporate special interests rather than the people and communities most impacted by the rules,” said Sam Berger, consultant for CSS and author of the report. “Democracy isn’t just what happens in the voting booth – there have to be mechanisms for effective public input into government processes and decision making. Prior to the Trump administration, many agencies took concrete steps to improve public input, leading to more effective, inclusive, and responsive regulation.”

The report highlights the steps agencies have already taken or could take to make public engagement better: allowing for earlier participation, engaging with impacted communities proactively, making opportunities for engagement more accessible to a broader range of people, and responding to comments in a manner that demonstrates agencies take them seriously. Crucially, greater public participation does not slow the rulemaking process to a crawl or give regulated entities a veto over important safeguards.

“Public participation is critical so that new and updated rules reflect the needs of the people and communities most affected by them,” said Rachel Weintraub, executive director of CSS. “Instead, the Trump administration is profoundly weakening the regulatory process, while shutting down avenues for public input. It won’t be easy rebuilding our regulatory system in the wake of so much devastation, but restoring it will require a big injection of democracy and public input. This report is packed with ways to bring a wider range of people into the rulemaking process.”