Biden Bans Offshore Drilling For Most Of U.S. Coastline Before Trump Takes Over

President Joe Biden announced Monday that he would ban offshore drilling for more than 625 million acres of U.S. waters before President-elect Donald Trump is inaugurated. 

Biden’s prohibition through two presidential memoranda on new oil and natural gas leases will cover the entire East Coast and West Coast of the continental U.S., the eastern Gulf of Mexico, and parts of the Alaska coastline. The White House said the 1953 Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act gave Biden the authority to make such a sweeping ban on energy production.

“In protecting more than 625 million acres of the U.S. ocean from offshore drilling, President Biden has determined that the environmental and economic risks and harms that would result from drilling in these areas outweigh their limited fossil fuel resource potential,” the White House said in a statement. “With these withdrawals, President Biden is protecting coastal communities, marine ecosystems, and local economies – including fishing, recreation, and tourism – from oil spills and other impacts of offshore drilling.”

He previously used the same 1953 law to ban drilling for portions of the North Bering Sea and 2.8 million acres of the Beaufort Sea. 

“The withdrawals have no expiration date, and prohibit all future oil and natural gas leasing in the areas withdrawn,” the White House said. 

JOIN THE MOVEMENT IN ’25 WITH 25% OFF DAILYWIRE+ ANNUAL MEMBERSHIPS WITH CODE DW25

The move from Biden comes just two weeks before President-elect Donald Trump takes office. Trump has promised to increase American oil production and make it easier for oil and gas companies to drill in U.S. waters.

Trump spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said Monday that the ban was motivated by revenge. 

“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,” she said. “Rest assured, Joe Biden will fail, and we will drill, baby, drill.”

While campaigning for president, Trump vowed to make the U.S. “energy dominant” and dramatically increase energy production. 

“We’re going to supply it all over Europe, all over the world,” he said. “We’re going to be double and triple what they’re doing. We’re going to have tremendous energy, and we’re going to lower our prices of energy.”

During his first term in office, Trump signed an executive order to rescind former President Barack Obama’s orders to withdraw hundreds of millions of acres of submerged land on the outer continental shelf, leading to a court battle. Obama also pointed to the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act for his actions.