NEW: Democrats are considering using an obscure but powerful law to obliterate federal regulations the Trump administration hustled to get on the books before leaving office. by @rbravender ($) in @Politicsinsider http://ow.ly/TIwT50DevcV 

It's the same law President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans used to wipe away rules put in place by the Obama administration.

Get ready to hear about the Congressional Review Act. It's a little-known law dating back to 1996 that gets fresh attention in Washington every time the White House changes hands. Prior to the Trump administration, it was only used once to wipe away an existing regulation.

But Trump and the Republicans who controlled both chambers of Congress used the CRA an unprecedented 16 times to obliterate federal rules, according to a new report from the Congressional Research Service.

The CRA allows Congress to kill rules finalized within the last 60 legislative days of the prior session. That means Trump's regulations issued on or after August 21 could be in peril, according to George Washington University's Regulatory Studies Center.

The Democrats' narrow control of the Senate means they're a lot more likely to ax some of Trump's more controversial regulations like an Interior Department rule that eases protections for migratory birds and air pollution rules from the Environmental Protection Agency.

The CRA requires only a simple majority vote and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer says Democrats will consider using every tool they have.

Policy insiders expect Ds to use the CRA to repeal at least a few of the more contentious regs Trump & his allies finalized on their way out the door. "I would say you'll see a handful of targeted CRA actions," said Matt Kent, a regulatory policy associate at Public Citizen.

The 7 Trump rules that look to be top targets for Dems to repeal using the CRA: EPA's science, ozone, cost-benefit and toxic air pollution rules; Interior's migratory bird rule; a multi-agency rule on grants for faith-based groups, & a DOL reg on investor advice.

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