The US District Court for the District of Columbia recently dismissed challenges to Executive Order 13,771, which requires federal agencies to rescind two regulations for every new regulation issued. The court held that the environmental group and union plaintiffs lacked standing and that the groups could not show how their members would be harmed by the order, as they had never alleged that any specific regulation had been rescinded or weakened as a result of it. It also dismissed the plaintiffs' claims that the order chilled their First Amendment right to advocate for more stringent regulations, as they had not alleged any facts to support an inference that the order had caused them to stop lobbying the government. However, the court requested a briefing on whether the case should be dismissed with prejudice or whether the plaintiffs should be given the opportunity to amend their complaint.
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