Under Trump, American Energy Unleashed at Last

Despite fueling unprecedented domestic manufacturing, global dominance, and technological advancement throughout the last century, the American energy industry has been playing defense in recent decades. Activist environmentalism and liberal government bureaucrats have vilified oil and gas (not to mention nuclear), aggressively lobbying to curtail the discovery, drilling, and development of America’s natural resources.

Further compounding the issue, major financial institutions such as BlackRock, State Street, and Vanguard have enforced radical environmental, social, and governance (ESG) policies, inflicting significant damage on industries like oil, gas, and coal. During President Biden’s administration, federal agencies issued an unrelenting stream of mandates, rules, and regulations that undermined the production of affordable, clean, and reliable energy.

The return of Donald Trump to the White House, however, has heralded a dramatic shift in the government’s approach to domestic energy policy. Trump’s inauguration and his day-one executive orders marked not only a return to the energy-friendly policies of his first administration but also a robust effort to reestablish America as the heart of global energy production.

Trump declared in his inaugural address, “The golden age of America begins right now.” Such a vision demands energy production on an unprecedented scale. Amid priorities like border security, bureaucratic reform, and addressing government overreach, Trump outlined a bold strategy for powering America’s future.

“Today I will also declare a national energy emergency. We will drill, baby, drill,” Trump announced after taking the oath of office. He elaborated:

America will be a manufacturing nation once again, and we have something that no other manufacturing nation will ever have: the largest amount of oil and gas of any country on Earth. And we are going to use it. We will bring prices down, fill our strategic reserves up again, right to the top, and export American energy all over the world. We will be a rich nation again. And it is that liquid gold under our feet that will help to do it.

That “liquid gold” has been the foundation of America’s economic success, national security, and sovereignty for over a century. Domestic energy production was a cornerstone of the American Century and remains indispensable for sustaining America’s future. Trump’s day-one executive orders emphasized that achieving energy independence is paramount to putting America first. 

One of his first orders, titled “Unleashing American Energy,” set the framework for addressing the nation’s energy challenges:

It is thus in the national interest to unleash America’s affordable and reliable energy and natural resources. This will restore American prosperity—including for those men and women who have been forgotten by our economy in recent years. It will also rebuild our Nation’s economic and military security, which will deliver peace through strength.

The rest of the energy EOs staged a major comeback for American energy. In the emergency declaration, Trump explained, “Our Nation’s current inadequate development of domestic energy resources leaves us vulnerable to hostile foreign actors and poses an imminent and growing threat to the United States’ prosperity and national security.” He ordered the department and agency heads to use all emergency powers to jumpstart the use of federal lands for production. The EO also floated the necessity of invoking eminent domain powers under the Defense Production Act to override certain obstacles that might restrict the immediate development of such lands. 

Alaska, in particular, stands to benefit from this policy shift. Trump declared Alaska “open for business,” unlocking the state’s vast untapped potential, previously stifled by governmental interference. As Trump stated, developing Alaska’s resources will “address trade imbalances, reinforce America’s global energy dominance, and protect against foreign powers weaponizing energy supplies in geopolitical conflicts.”

A slew of Biden executive orders were also rescinded, including several offshore drilling limitations, the federal subsidization of “green” initiatives, and other policies that undercut domestic production of energy. Additionally, Trump terminated the U.S. participation in the Pairs Climate Agreement and ensured that no international environmental agreements would undermine American interests.

Trump’s early actions underscore his commitment to comprehensive regulatory review and repeal, freeing American companies from burdensome bureaucratic constraints that have stifled production and eliminated U.S. jobs. The exploration and discovery of the natural resources lying beneath our feet on previously restricted land will help provide the fuel necessary for a new golden age.