Incoming President Donald Trump is poised to swiftly overturn Joe Biden’s natural energy directives, aiming to enhance oil and gas production and reinitiate major projects.
Fox News reported that with his inauguration approaching, President-elect Donald Trump is preparing to aggressively reshape U.S. energy policies. His administration intends to focus heavily on revitalizing the natural gas and oil sectors, moving away from the more restrictive measures implemented by his predecessor.
Trump's primary agenda includes the immediate removal of the hold on liquefied natural gas (LNG) export permits.
This pause, instituted by President Biden in January, has faced significant backlash from across the energy sector and bipartisan lawmakers anxious about job losses and economic downturns.
A report by the National Association of Manufacturers has emphasized a dire outlook if the current restrictions continue, predicting that nearly one million jobs could vanish over the next two decades. Such statistics have bolstered Trump’s drive to renew LNG exports as a cornerstone of his energy policy beginning next year.
An integral component of Trump's energy strategy is to expand access to natural resources. This will involve boosting the number of lease sales for oil drilling along U.S. coastlines and on federal lands, which had been curtailed under the Biden administration.
The approach not only seeks to increase domestic production but also aims to reduce dependency on foreign oil, a point Trump emphasized during his campaign.
In line with these changes, Trump plans to expedite the approval processes for these leases. The goal is to cut through what his campaign criticized as bureaucratic red tape that hinders energy development and economic growth.
This step is seen as vital for meeting the rising energy demand and employing thousands across the nation.
Trump has also signaled a broader pivot away from various Biden-era environmental policies. Among his targets are the rollback of tax credits for electric vehicles, a move to exit once again from the Paris climate accord, encouraging expansion of fracking, and notably, the revival of the controversial Keystone XL pipeline project.
This pipeline, halted by Biden on his first day in office, is a significant symbol of Trump’s push to support major energy infrastructure projects.
Former workers of the Keystone XL project have expressed optimism about its potential comeback, which they believe will substantially reduce general costs for Americans struggling with high energy bills.
"It's a breath of fresh air. We're running on cloud nine," mentioned former Keystone Pipeline worker Bugsy Allen during an interview on "Fox & Friends Weekend." Allen, like many others, is enthusiastic about the employment and economic boost the project's continuation could potentially provide.
"It will make a big difference as far as your energy cost, your food cost, your gas that you put in your cars. It is going to be the primary start of bringing everything ... down for the American people that we have suffered so much in the last administration," he added.
Further marking a significant personnel choice, Trump has selected Liberty Energy’s CEO Chris Wright for a crucial position within the Department of Energy.
Wright, who is renowned as a leading technologist and entrepreneur in the energy sector, is expected to play a pivotal role in steering the U.S. toward greater energy self-reliance and technological advancement.
Trump’s appointments and policy shifts underscore his commitment to a robust energy policy that reclaims and maximizes domestic resources.
The incoming administration is betting these shifts will stabilize and potentially lower domestic costs while creating employment in areas affected by the previous administration’s policies.
The revival of the Keystone XL pipeline and the lifting of the LNG pause are particularly noteworthy and expected to catalyze job creation and reduce energy costs. These actions point to a decisive shift in how the U.S. will approach energy production and environmental management under Trump’s leadership.