President-elect Donald Trump is reportedly planning to focus heavily on two policy changes to boost natural energy production during his first days in office, according to a new report.
As his second-term agenda takes shape, the president-elect is eyeing immediate changes to current policies on liquefied natural gas (LNG) permits and oil and gas drilling leases, sources familiar with the transition plans told Reuters.
President Biden initiated a pause on new LNG export permits in January, a move which has been widely criticized by the oil community and bipartisan lawmakers in the House. The National Association of Manufacturers conducted a study on the ban that found nearly 1 million jobs would be threatened by the LNG pause over the next two decades if the restriction remains in place, Fox News Digital previously reported.
However, Trump reportedly “plans to go strong on the issue” of LNG exports when he assumes office, sources told Reuters.
The Republican president-elect plans to lift Biden’s pause and allow permits for new LNG exports next year, fulfilling a promise he made frequently while on the campaign trail.
Trump will also seek to increase lease sales for drilling along the coast, expedite permit approval, and expand drilling on federal land, the outlet learned.
The latest report comes as several of Biden’s climate-focused initiatives appear to be in jeopardy under the incoming Trump administration.
Trump has talked for months about his plans to roll back Biden’s green policies, such as the tax credit for electric vehicle purchases. He also plans to withdraw from the Paris climate accord for the second time, expand fracking, and revive the Keystone XL pipeline, which was canceled on Biden’s first day in office.
“It’s a breath of fresh air. We’re running on cloud nine,” former Keystone Pipeline worker Bugsy Allen said on “Fox & Friends Weekend,” on Sunday – amid news of Trump’s potentially reviving the pipeline that transported crude oil from Canada to the U.S.
“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 actually going to be the primary start of bringing everything … down for the American people that we have suffered so much in the last administration.”
