The Honorable Paul J. Ray is currently Of Counsel at Covington & Burling LLP where he advises clients on regulatory opportunities and challenges and helps them formulate and execute advocacy strategies for their regulatory policy priorities before the executive branch and Congress.
During the first Trump Administration, Paul held various senior positions at the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) within the White House’s Office of Management and Budget, including as acting, and then Senate-confirmed, head of the office. As OIRA Administrator (the "regulations czar"), Paul supervised the review of hundreds of regulations from across the government, drafted numerous executive orders governing the regulatory process, and led the Administration’s regulatory reform effort. As a result of this experience, Paul is well-positioned to help clients understand and achieve regulatory policy priorities in the context of the government’s regulatory agenda and ongoing reform efforts.
Most recently, Paul was also the Director of the Roe Institute for Economic Policy Studies at The Heritage Foundation. In that role, he supervised the formulation of the Foundation’s economic and regulatory policy recommendations and provided technical assistance to congressional committees and staff regarding legislative changes to the regulatory process. In addition to his role at The Heritage Foundation, Paul also served as a Senior Advisor at a strategic advisory firm. Before his time in government, Paul practiced law at a law firm in Washington, specializing in administrative law matters.
Prior to his role at the White House, Paul was Counselor to the Secretary at the U.S. Department of Labor. There he led departmental efforts in high-profile rulemakings and helped formulate the Department’s legal positions and strategy.
Paul served as a law clerk to Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito and as a law clerk to the Honorable Debra Livingston of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
Paul is a thought leader in the conservative legal movement and is a frequent commentator and speaker on regulatory policy and reform matters, including at law schools, professional gatherings, and other venues. He is the Chairman of Innovations in Peacebuilding International and the Regulatory Process Working Group of the Federalist Society’s Regulatory Transparency Project and a public member of the Administrative Conference of the United States. Paul is also an adjunct lecturer at the Hillsdale College School of Government.
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Regulatory Coordination and the Role of the Deputy Secretary
DC Young Lawyer Chapter
Washington, DCAnnual Symposium on The Expanding Executive: Power, Policy, and the Constitution
Pennsylvania Student Chapter
University of Pennsylvania Law School3501 Sansom St
Philadelphia, PA 19104
The Presidential Toolbox: Instruments of Executive Power
What are the legal tools available to a President to shape policy and execute the...
Independent Agencies and the OIRA Review Process
The question of agency independence is front and center in modern political and legal discourse—the...
Weighing Regulations: The Metrics of White House Review
Amidst the flurry of new Executive Orders that launched the second Trump Administration, many questions...
Panel III: Congress and the Administrative State: Prospects for Regulatory Reform
2025 National Student Symposium
Featuring: Prof. Nicholas Bagley, Thomas G. Long Professor of Law, University of Michigan Law School...
Panel III: Congress and the Administrative State: Prospects for Regulatory Reform
2025 National Student Symposium
Featuring: Prof. Nicholas Bagley, Thomas G. Long Professor of Law, University of Michigan Law School...