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Outgoing Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says that the Biden administration’s new refund rules will likely remain in place under Donald Trump’s upcoming presidency. In an interview with Travel + Leisure, Buttigieg said that the new rules are “the law of the land.”
“The automatic refunds principle, for example, began as a rule making, but it wound up in the FAA legislation, which means it’s not something that any administration can unilaterally change,” he told the magazine.
He was responding to a question about potential consumer protections that will remain in place after Biden leaves office. His answer referenced a new regulation announced in April that would require airlines to issue refunds to passengers whose flights were canceled.
“Passengers deserve to get their money back when an airline owes them — without headaches or haggling,” said Buttigieg at the time of the announcement. “Our new rule sets a new standard to require airlines to promptly provide cash refunds to their passengers.”
After a recent Supreme Court decision overturned the “Chevron” doctrine that gives government agencies leeway to implement federal policy through rules implementation, there has been some concern that government regulations will become more difficult to enforce.