President-elect Donald Trump said he intends to immediately rescind President Biden's new ban Offshore drilling along most of the U.S. coast, but faces major hurdles under an irrevocable 70-year-old law.
Throughout his 2024 presidential campaign, Trump pledged that, if elected, he would expand oil and gas drilling operations in an effort to boost American-made energy.
but, Biden issued Trump issued an executive order at 11 a.m. Monday to block such actions exactly two weeks before his term ends, announcing a permanent moratorium on most new oil and gas drilling across U.S. coastal and offshore waters in an area spanning about 625 million acres.
“It's ridiculous. I'll unban him immediately,” Trump said on “The Hugh Hewitt Show” on Monday. “What is he doing?”
President-elect Donald Trump said he would “lift” President Biden's ban on drilling along the coast. (Sarah Messonnier)
Trump added: “We cannot allow this to happen to our country.” “It is truly our greatest economic asset.”
The executive order, issued under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA), seeks to prevent future oil and natural gas leasing along the east and west coasts, the eastern Gulf of Mexico and parts of Alaska's northern Bering Sea.
Trump said he had the “right” to undo such an action, but given that Biden issued the order under a 1953 law that allows the president to enact a ban on oil and gas development, he could not simply undo it.
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In 2019, during Trump's first term, a federal judge ruled that OCSLA does not allow presidents to overturn bans imposed by previous administrations. This means that Trump will need congressional approval to overturn Biden's decision.
DCOR LLC's Edith offshore oil and gas platform, right, and Beta Operating Company LLC's Eureka oil and gas platform at Beta Field off the coast of Long Beach, California, on Tuesday, May 18, 2010. (Tim Rowe)
Biden said his decision stems from his efforts to limit climate change, one of dozens of moves from 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 coasts can cause irreparable damage to the places we cherish and is unnecessary to meet our nation’s energy needs,” Biden said in a statement. “It's not worth the risk. As the climate crisis continues to threaten communities across the country as we transition to a clean energy economy, it's time to protect these coasts for our children and grandchildren.”
Trump's spokeswoman, Carolyn Levitt, also issued a statement criticizing Biden's order.
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“This is a disgraceful decision aimed at political retaliation against the American people who gave President Trump a mandate to increase drilling and lower gas prices. Rest assured, Joe Biden “We're going to screw up, and we're going to dig, baby, dig,” Leavitt said.
