Drill, baby, drill: Trump launches second term by declaring an energy emergency

U.S. President Donald Trump got straight to work after taking office. As he had already indicated, he sees national energy as a high-priority sector, and specific measures were not long in coming. Declaring an energy emergency is the first step, providing a framework for expedited action. The White House issued the executive order earlier this week.

Trump is beginning his second stint as president after being succeeded in the interim by Joe Biden. It is clear that he has returned much more experienced, determined and prepared, both politically and in terms of personnel, so it is no surprise that he has thrown himself into pursuing his stated goals with characteristic zeal from day one. But there is one catch to his presence in office: it is time-limited.

The decision to declare an emergency is part of a broad plan to maximize oil and natural gas production. Such a declaration will enable the expedited permitting of oil, gas and energy projects. Trump’s determination, expressed in slogans such as “Drill, baby, drill”, was clear even before he officially took office, as was his radical shift in approach compared with his predecessor. His current actions only confirm that determination.

“The identification, leasing, development, production, transportation, refining, and generation capacity of the United States in energy and critical mineral resources (‘energy’) are far too inadequate to meet our nation’s needs,”the executive order states in its opening section. It attributes inadequate energy supplies and unprepared infrastructure to the “harmful and shortsighted policies of the previous administration,” which are responsible for high energy prices, “that are destroying Americans.”

The prosperity of the American people comes first

In addition to identifying the problems, the executive order focuses on emergency measures to put the prosperity of the American people first. To that end, executive departments and agencies will identify and use all available legal emergency authorities to facilitate the exploration, extraction, production and transportation of domestic energy resources, including those on federal lands.

The order also references several laws directly related to its stated goals. These include, in particular, the Clean Water Act and the Endangered Species Act. Under these laws, executive departments and agencies will be required to identify and use all available legal emergency authorities to facilitate the nation’s energy supply.

Specifically, under the Clean Water Act, agencies will identify planned or potential actions that may be subject to emergency measures and submit summary reports listing them. Similarly, under the Endangered Species Act, agencies will identify actions that may be subject to an emergency consultation regulation and also submit summary reports listing them.