Cass R. Sunstein, Columnist

In Praise of the 'Deep State'

Trump's nominee for the office that vets regulations says the right things about career civil servants.

June 13, 2017 at 12:00 PM UTC

Cass R. Sunstein is a former Bloomberg Opinion columnist. He is the author of “The Cost-Benefit Revolution” and a co-author of “Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth and Happiness.”

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Amid the controversies dominating the news last week, hardly any attention was paid to the confirmation hearing for Neomi Rao, who was nominated by President Donald Trump to serve as administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs. If confirmed, Rao, a law professor at George Mason University, will play a key role in overseeing federal regulation in areas such as environmental protection, food safety, health care, occupational safety and transportation policy. (I was privileged to head OIRA from 2009 to 2012.)

A paragraph in Rao’s opening statements deserves sustained applause: