Did Biden Finally Do Something to Stop Trump?
Trump’s promise to “drill baby drill” may be easier said than done.
On Monday Joe Biden announced a buzzer-beater ban on new offshore drilling for oil and gas in 625 million acres of ocean. President-elect Trump wants to undo it immediately.
“Drilling off these coasts could cause irreversible damage to places we hold dear and is unnecessary to meet our nation’s energy needs. It is not worth the risks,” the Biden White House 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.”
This move left Trump and his team predictably incensed, as confirmed by his spokesperson Karoline Leavitt on X.
“This is a disgraceful decision designed to exact political revenge on the American people who gave President Trump a mandate to increase drilling and lower gas prices,” Leavitt wrote. “Rest assured, Joe Biden will fail, and we will drill, baby, drill.”
But Trump may not be able to overturn this ban at all, at least not immediately.
Biden passed this action using the 1953 Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, which grants presidents sweeping privileges to save federal waters from being used for future oil and gas development. The act does not allow a president to overturn said law alone, meaning President-elect Trump would have to turn to an already fractured and tumultuous Congress to allow drilling to begin.