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President-elect Donald Trump said he plans to immediately reverse President Biden’s new ban offshore drilling along most of the US coast, but faces major roadblocks under an irrevocable 70-year-old law.
Throughout his 2024 presidential campaign, Trump promised that, if elected, he would expand oil and gas drilling in an effort to bolster American-made energy.
However, Biden issued an 11th-hour executive order on Monday morning to prevent such actions exactly two weeks before his term ends, announcing a permanent halt to most new oil and gas drilling in U.S. offshore and coastal waters in a area covering about 625 million acres.
“It’s ridiculous. I’m going to unban it immediately,” Trump said Monday on “The Hugh Hewitt Show.” “What is he doing?”
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President-elect Donald Trump said he will “unban” President Biden’s block on drilling along the coast. (Sarah Meyssonnier)
“We cannot let this happen in our country,” Trump added. “It’s really our biggest economic asset.”
The executive order, issued under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA), seeks to block future oil and natural gas leasing on the east and west coasts, the eastern Gulf of Mexico and parts of the north of Alaska’s Bering Sea.
Trump said he “has the right” to reverse that action, but since Biden issued the order under a 1953 law that allows the president to enact bans on oil and gas development, he could not simply reverse it.
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In 2019, during Trump’s first term, a federal judge ruled that the OCSLA did not allow presidents to override bans established by previous administrations. That means Trump would need congressional approval to reverse Biden’s decision.
DCOR LLC’s Edith oil and gas rig, right, and Beta Operating Company LLC’s Eureka oil and gas rig sit in the Beta field off the coast of Long Beach, California, Tuesday, May 18, 2010. (Tim Rue)
Biden said his decision stemmed from his efforts to curb climate change, one of dozens of moves on the Democratic president’s green energy agenda.
“My decision reflects what coastal communities, businesses and beachgoers have known for a long time: that drilling off these shores could cause irreversible damage to the places we love and is unnecessary to meet energy needs of our nation,” Biden said in a statement. “It’s not worth the risks. As the climate crisis continues to threaten communities across the country and we transition to a clean energy economy, now is the time to protect these shores for our children and grandchildren “.
Trump spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt also issued a statement criticizing Biden’s order.
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“This is a shameful decision designed to take political revenge on the American people who gave President Trump the mandate to increase drilling and lower gas prices. Rest assured, Joe Biden it’s gonna fail, and we’re gonna drill, baby, we’re gonna drill,” Leavitt said.
