President Donald Trump recently announced he would suspend many government regulations to aid the economy and lift a ban on fishing in an ocean sanctuary, in both cases winning praise from associations opposed to the regulations in question.

Trump on Friday signed an executive order directing federal agencies to suspend many environmental and worker safety regulations, citing the economic crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic as giving him the authority to do so, the Washington Post reported. That same day, he lifted an Obama-era ban on commercial fishing in the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument off the coast of New England, accusing the ban of harming the industry. He also signed an executive order on Thursday allowing agencies to waive environmental laws to speed up approval of infrastructure projects like pipelines and highways.

Many environmental and consumer safety groups blasted Trump's actions but industry associations were supportive, calling the president's orders much-needed reforms.

"Streamlining natural gas pipeline permitting, while still ensuring a diligent process, will help our nation's economic recovery at this incredibly difficult time by creating urgently needed jobs and providing affordable, reliable energy to homes and struggling businesses," Karen Harbert, CEO of the American Gas Association, said in a statement.

We are living in an unprecedented time, said Robin Rorick, vice president of midstream and industry operations for the American Petroleum Institute "and getting energy infrastructure projects approved and moving will go a long way in re-starting our economy while creating well-paying, middle-class sustaining jobs."

The National Fisheries Institute—which represents the seafood industry—welcomed the decision to reopen the ocean sanctuary. The group said regulations are best left to the New England Fishery Management Council, a regional council established by the federal government to oversee management of fishery resources.

"Simply cordoning off zones on a map to harvesting without regard for the existing, well-constructed system has been duplicative and disadvantaged the men and women who work these fisheries and ultimately consumers," NSF President John Connelly said in a statement.

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