By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
WASHINGTON (Worthy News) – A standoff emerged Tuesday between outgoing President Joe Biden and his incoming successor, Donald J. Trump, over his plans to expand offshore drilling.
Trump, whose “drill, baby, drill” mantra has energized the fossil fuel industry, condemned Biden for moving to ban new offshore oil and natural gas drilling in most U.S. coastal waters.
It was seen as a last-minute effort to prevent the incoming Trump from taking action.
Biden, whose term expires in two weeks, said he is using 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.
“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,” Biden said in a statement.
“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,” he stressed.
Biden’s orders would not affect large swaths of the Gulf of Mexico, where most U.S. offshore drilling occurs. Still, it would protect coastlines along California, Florida, and other states from future drilling.
BAN ‘RIDICULOUS’
However, in a radio interview, Trump branded the ban “ridiculous”.
“I’ll unban it immediately,” he pledged. “I have the right to unban it immediately.”
Trump has previously said he will reverse Biden’s conservation and climate change policies, arguing that the United States has been taken advantage of by heavy carbon dioxide, or CO2, emitting countries like China.
Yet analysts say Biden’s actions, which protect more than 625 million acres of federal waters, could be complex for President-elect Donald Trump to unwind since they would likely require an act of the United States Congress to repeal.
Trump himself has a complicated history of offshore drilling. In 2020, he signed a memorandum directing the Interior Secretary to prohibit drilling in the waters off both Florida coasts and off the coasts of Georgia and South Carolina until 2032.
The action came after Trump initially moved to vastly expand offshore drilling before retreating amid widespread opposition in Florida and other coastal states. Biden’s ban covers the Atlantic coast and eastern Gulf of Mexico, the Pacific coast of California, Oregon, and Washington, and a section of the Bering Sea off Alaska.
It is the latest in a string of last-minute climate policy actions by the Biden administration ahead of Donald Trump’s return to the White House.
Copyright 1999-2025 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
More Worthy News
With millions of Americans’ health insurance premiums projected to rise in 2026, due partially to enhanced Obamacare subsidies expiring, Republicans are eyeing health savings accounts as a solution.
President Donald Trump on Tuesday elevated Saudi Arabia to the status of a “major non-NATO ally,” a designation that significantly expands the military relationship between Washington and Riyadh during Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s first White House visit in seven years.
The United States has begun a rapid diplomatic and operational drive to assemble the newly authorized International Stabilization Force (ISF) for Gaza, launching the effort mere hours after the UN Security Council overwhelmingly approved its deployment.
Israeli intelligence revealed Wednesday that a sweeping joint investigation with European security agencies has uncovered a network of Hamas-linked terror cells operating across Europe, with recent plots traced back to Qatar and possibly Turkey, where senior Hamas officials maintain political offices.
The White House is urging members of the U.S. Congress to reject a measure that would restrict the world’s most valuable semiconductor company’s ability to sell advanced artificial intelligence (AI) chips to Communist-run China and other adversary nations, according to people familiar with the matter.
Indonesian authorities say more than 900 residents were evacuated and 170 stranded climbers have now been brought to safety after Mount Semeru — one of the country’s tallest and most active volcanoes — erupted repeatedly on Wednesday.
U.S. President Donald J. Trump has signed legislation compelling his administration to release all classified files related to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, after mounting pressure from within his own Republican Party.