The Regulatory Three-Body Problem

Ninety percent of federal policy is through regulation. No one knows how it’s made.

[A version of this article first appeared at Notice & Comment (Yale Journal on Regulation) on August 19, 2026]

The textbook description of federal administrative law goes as follows:

• Since all lawmaking authority is vested by the Constitution in Congress, Congress first passes a law. If the law requires some element of administration (e.g., the law prohib…