ICR D.C. Insider May 2026

In the May 2026 edition of The ICR D.C. Insider, we cover a busy month in Washington, with significant developments spanning trade, financial regulation, and data privacy. Notable among them: the opening of the tariff refund portal for businesses that paid duties later invalidated by the Supreme Court, and a major legislative push to establish a national data privacy standard that would preempt dozens of state laws. As always, we share our insights and analysis on what these and other developments could mean for your business.

Tariffs

• Tariff Refund Portal Opens – Customs and Border Protection (CBP) opened the online refund system for businesses that paid tariffs to apply for refunds. Companies must submit declarations listing the goods on which they collectively put billions of dollars toward the tariffs. If CBP approves a claim, it will take 60-90 days for a refund to be issued. More than 300,000 importers brought in over 53 million shipments subject to the tariffs that the Supreme Court invalidated in February. Only the tariffs imposed via The International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) that the Supreme Court ruled against are eligible for refunds, and even then, there are limits to the kinds of duties CBP said it will refund. Initially, only requests for estimated tariffs, along with those that were finalized by CBP within the past 80 days, will be accepted.

SEC

• Supreme Court Hears Case on SEC’s Disgorgement Powers – During oral arguments, it appears that the Supreme Court is inclined to support the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) broad authority to pursue disgorgement (where it seeks recovery of profits made from illegal activities). The specific issue in this case is whether the agency must show that victims suffered economic harm before it can seek the surrender of illegal ⁠ A decision is expect in July.
• SEC Brought Fewer Enforcement Cases in 2025 – The SEC brought 456 enforcement actions in Fiscal Year 2025, a nearly 22 percent decline from the prior year. At the same time, total monetary penalties surged ⁠to $17.9 billion, largely due to a final judgment in a Ponzi scheme case the ​SEC originally brought in 2009. Excluding that case, the SEC levied penalties and disgorgement of $2.7 billion. That ​compares to $8.2 billion in financial remedies and 583 actions a year earlier. Chairman Paul Atkins emphasized: “We have redirected resources toward the types of misconduct that inflict the greatest harm – particularly fraud, market manipulation, and abuses of trust – and away from approaches that prioritized ​volume and record-setting penalties over true investor protection.” The SEC noted that its annual statistics did not include 1,095 matters in which potential violations were investigated and later closed, or practices were ​remediated (and this type of disclosure is uncommon).
• Chairman Atkins Previews His “Make IPOs Great Again” Agenda – In a speech to the Economic Club of Washington, Chairman Atkins outlined key elements in his regulatory agenda for the SEC. He said: “Looking ahead, I am eager for the Commission to propose rules that execute my Make IPOs Great Again agenda. For proposals in the near term, I have instructed the Commission staff to evaluate the following ideas: (1) adopting a regulatory IPO “on-ramp” that supplements the concept that Congress designed in the JOBS Act; (2) expanding the existing accommodations that are currently available only for emerging and smaller companies to more businesses; (3) providing nearly all public companies with an easier path to “shelf registration,” which allows them to access the public markets quickly and when market conditions are ideal; and (4) giving companies the optionality for a quarterly or semiannual regulatory filing cadence.”

FTC

• FTC to Host Workshop on Antitrust “Litigation the Fix” – The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) will host a workshop on May 29, 2026, titled “Eleventh-Hour Antitrust Remedy Proposals and Litigating the Fix.” Litigate-the-fix cases arise when merging parties propose remedies late in the antitrust review process or even during litigation, forcing the courts, rather than the antitrust agencies, to determine whether the proposed remedy is sufficient.

Labor

• New Joint Employer Rule Proposed – The Department of Labor proposed a new rule under the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act (MSPA) that would create a national standard for “joint employer” status. The new rule would create a single, nationwide standard for when two or more employers are jointly liable FLSA and the MSPA. The proposed rule establishes a multi-part test to determine different standards that include “horizontal joint employment” and “vertical joint employment.” The test would consider factors including who hires or fires the worker and who determines the rate of pay.

Cyber & Data

• National Data Privacy Policy Proposed – Republicans in the House of Representatives unveiled a landmark legislative effort to create a national data privacy standard, teeing up a push to enact sweeping changes to how technology and financial data are regulated. The effort includes two bills — the SECURE Data Act, which deals with tech companies’ consumer data, and a second financial data privacy measure, the GUARD Financial Data Act. The new proposals would preempt dozens of state data laws and set a federal standard for how tech and finance companies handle their customers’ data. They would require companies to limit the collection of people’s data and give consumers the right to request and access a copy of their data. Specific provisions seek to define a new federal standard for how consumers’ can stop their personal details being sold and being used for targeted marketing. They would also create new requirements for how companies anonymize personal identifiable information and would force data brokers to make clear the nature of their business on websites and apps.

Treasury

• Access to 401(k)s Expanded – President Trump issued an Executive Order (EO)that gives access to retirement accounts for workers who don’t get 401(k)s. The order has sizeable bipartisan support. According to data from the centrist Economic Innovation Group, 54 million Americans lack access to an employer-based retirement plan. A law passed under former President Biden set up a small amount of matching funds for low-earning workers who put money into a retirement plan. The “saver’s match” was set to take effect next year and would give up to $1,000 per eligible worker in matching funds (for a person earning under $35,000 a year) to certain workers who contribute $2,000 a year to an IRA. The Trump Administration wants to go further, with National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett saying that they are pressing Congress to take the match to “the next level,” including raising the income cap to cover more middle-income earners.