As many as 98 final regulations are reportedly under review at the White House for

The White House denied on Tuesday that President Barack Obama is planning to ram through last-minute regulations to cement his legacy.

Any executive actions the president is planning to implement before Donald Trump takes office were already in the works, the president's spokesman said Tuesday.

'I'm not going to rule out additional executive actions that the administration may take between now and January 20. After all the President of the United States is the President of the United States until January 20,' White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said.

'What I can rule out are any sort of hastily added executive actions that weren't previously considered that would just be tacked on at the end,' he added.

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The White House denied on Tuesday that President Barack Obama is planning to ram through last-minute regulations to cement his legacy. Any executive actions the president is planning to implement before Donald Trump takes office were already in the works

As many as 98 final regulations are reportedly under review at the White House and could be implemented before Donald Trump takes office.

Seventeen of those are considered 'economically significant', with an estimated economic impact of at least $100 million a year, a Politico revealed.

Obama is trying to push through regulations on issues close to him such as air pollution from the oil industry and measures aiming to help highly skilled immigrant workers obtain green cards, it said.

'Midnight regulations' are those introduced between November's election and January's inauguration of a new president.

It is the final chance for an outgoing Commander-in-chief to put his stamp on the presidency and tie the hands of his successor.

Obama can pass the rules because of a loophole in US law allowing him to put last-minute regulations into the Code of Federal Regulations - rules that have the same force as law.

Trump has vowed to cancel 'every wasteful and unnecessary regulation which kills jobs and bloats government.'

But he also says he's asked his team to 'develop a list of executive actions we can take on day one to restore our laws and bring back our jobs.'

The president-elect has said he will eliminate two regulations for every new one he proposes.

He's also said he'll undo major executive actions put into place by Obama on, ending a program that allows immigrants who came to the country illegally as children to stay indefinitely.

The White House insisted on Tuesday that any new executive actions that could go into effect before Trump's inauguration, now just 52 days away, 'have been in the pipeline for quite some time.'

Earnest said the 'possibility certainly exists' that more could be announced 'but I don't have anything to preview.'

Obama is pressing ahead with negotiations on an investment treaty with China and decisions by the Education Department on whether to offer debt relief to students at defunct for-profit colleges.

By contrast, Trump has shown disdain for climate change regulation and campaigned on an anti-immigration rhetoric, describing Mexicans as 'rapists' and pledging to build a wall on the US border with Mexico.

The Republican has also criticized China's trade and currency practices and threatened to impose tariffs up to 45 per cent on Chinese imports.

Some government agencies were operating under the assumption that Hillary Clinton would win the election and held off on issuing new regulations, the Christian Science Monitor reports. They're working furiously to have them ready to go into effect before the new administration comes in now.

Interior spokeswoman Jessica Kershaw told CSM her department is merely 'finishing the business we started and in some cases, finishing the business of prior administrations where decisions weren't complete when we took the helm.'

Politico's report said Interior was holding back on a long-awaited rule aimed at curbing coal mining pollution of streams that it may never issue now, though.

Gina McCarthy, US Environment Protection Agency Administrator, wrote a memo to staff following the controversial election result that said, 'We're running - not walking - through the finish line of President Obama's presidency.'

The White House has also said it plans to 'run through the tape.'

President-elect Donald Trump, pictured earlier this month, has vowed to cancel 'every wasteful and unnecessary regulation which kills jobs and bloats government'

Politico reports that Obama is moving ahead with 'midnight regulations' despite House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy warning him not to.

In a letter on November 15, McCarthy reportedly said: 'Should you ignore this counsel, please be aware that we will work with our colleagues to ensure that Congress scrutinizes your actions - and, if appropriate, overturns them'.

The so-called 'midnight regulations' can be reversed by the same executive agencies, but that requires a considerable rule-making process.

Congress could also effectively overturn them by passing more explicit statutory mandates - but risk turning an unwanted regulation into law.