President Joe Biden’s long-threatened push to ban new offshore oil and gas drilling in most U.S. coastal waters is going ahead in a move designed to thwart President-elect Donald Trump’s administration promise to expand offshore drilling in the name of ensuring America’s energy self-sufficiency.
Trump has already made clear he will immediately reverse the Biden decision on the first day his administration takes office.
As Breitbart News reported, Biden, whose term expires in two weeks, claims authority under the federal Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to protect offshore areas along the East and West coasts, the eastern Gulf of Mexico and portions of Alaska’s Northern Bering Sea from future oil and natural gas leasing. He said in a statement:
My decision reflects what coastal communities, businesses and beachgoers have known for a long time: that drilling off these coasts could cause irreversible damage to places we hold dear and is unnecessary to meet our nation’s energy needs.
As the climate crisis continues to threaten communities across the country and we are transitioning to a clean energy economy, now is the time to protect these coasts for our children and grandchildren.
The octogenarian’s precipitous actions, which cover more than 625 million acres of federal waters, could be difficult – but not impossible – for Trump to unwind, even as Biden supporters say a recision would likely require an act of Congress.
AP reports Trump on Monday declared is having none of that. After he’s inaugurated on Jan. 20, “It’ll be changed on day one. I can change it immediately.”
“I will unban it immediately” Trump told conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt. “I have the right to unban it.”
He said the U.S. has “oil and gas at a level that nobody else has and we’re gonna take advantage of it,” adding of curb drilling, “We can’t let that happen to our country.”
“It’s really our greatest economic asset,” Trump said.
