EnviroPolitics Blog

Trump’s Team Outlines Plans for a ‘Golden Era’ of American Energy

By: J. Michael Showalter , Samuel A. Rasche, Sarah L. Lode / ArentFox Schiff LLP

The Trump Administration is beginning to roll out its policy plans to “dominate” the global energy space. These plans tackle energy transition issues in a dramatically different manner than did the Biden Administration, particularly by leaning into fostering the development of resources, including fossil fuels, nuclear, and hydroelectric power that provide reliable “baseload” supply. This comes as no surprise given President Trump’s promise to “drill, baby, drill” at the inauguration.

We previously reported on the Trump Administration’s early plans for energy policy, and in the weeks since those plans are coming into sharper focus. Key policy blueprints include the following:

A memorandum released by US Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Chris Wright on February 5 classified as a plan for “Unleashing the Golden Era of American Energy Dominance” and framing out DOE’s initial slate of actions.
An executive order issued on February 14 establishing the “National Energy Dominance Council” to advise the president on ways to increase domestic energy production and take full advantage of the nation’s “amazing national assets” including oil, natural gas, biofuels, uranium and critical minerals, geothermal heat, and the “kinetic energy of moving water. The council is tasked with preparing a detailed report on the state of “energy dominance” to be prepared within 100 days.

The council will be made up of at least 17 cabinet members and other federal officials, and the US Secretary of the Interior will serve as the Council Chair. The executive order stresses the importance of energy dominance on national security, and the Energy Dominance Council chair will be given a seat on the National Security Council.

We break down the policy framework, which dovetails with the USEP Environmental Protection Agency’s priorities (summarized here), and accompanying context for the Trump Administration’s energy-related plans below. Highlights include:

Streamlining government oversight.
Renewing focus on fossil fuels like oil and natural gas in place of wind and solar.
Prioritizing lowering the cost of energy to consumers instead of emissions reductions.
Promoting nuclear technology.
Preparing for increased energy demand.

Read the full story here

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California governor sends EPR rules back to the drawing board

California Governor Gavin Newsom signed SB 54 into law in 2022, with an aim of using less plastic and increasing circularity for plastic packaging and food ware. Draft regulations designed to implement the law were shared a year ago, followed by public input. But now, Newsom has flipped the script, returning the regulations to CalRecycle for a restart. Environmental groups said they feel that the governor has caved to business pressures.

Read the full story here

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Former NJ Governor and EPA chief Christie Whitman decries Trump regulatory reversal of environmental protections

Former Gov. Christie Whitman, who once led the federal Environmental Protection Agency, has termed President Donald Trump’s sweeping plan to roll back environmental regulation “unconscionable.”

“I mean people are dying because of air and water pollution,” Whitman said. “If we start stopping regulation and controlling some of these emissions, we’re going to be in a much, much worse place.”

Trump’s EPA chief, Lee Zeldin, on Thursday announced plans to reconsider such regulations as those covering coal-burning power plants and the petroleum industry.

The former Long Island congressman and staunch Trump supporter hailed the changes as “a dagger straight into the heart of the climate change religion.”

Whitman, a frequent critic of Trump, cautioned that the changes would be subject to review in the courts and would not be implemented immediately.

She acknowledged, however, that staff cuts at the federal agency would significantly impair the agency’s enforcement power.

Whitman made the comments in an interview with NJ Spotlight News Anchor Briana Vannozzi (below).

WATCH IT HERE

Former NJ Governor and EPA chief Christie Whitman decries Trump regulatory reversal of environmental protections Read More »

Award of NJ Turnpike’s $1.73 billion E-ZPass deal raises questions

By Briana Vannozzi, NJ Spotlight News anchor

Several lawmakers are raising questions about the state’s new $1.73 billion E-ZPass deal, after a recent news report revealed the contract was awarded through a mostly closed-door process with virtually no public disclosure.

The report by investigative journalist Jeff Pillets of The Jersey Vindicator found the New Jersey Turnpike Authority selected a company named TransCore LP to run NJ E-ZPass operations, despite its bid being $250 million higher than the next-lowest qualified bidder and the company having alleged ties to the Chinese Communist Party.

The new contract comes as tolls on the Turnpike have shot up more than 40% over the past few years and amid broader concerns about government transparency.

“The Turnpike Authority said that they were chosen because they had the best experience and that they offered the best solutions to customer service that have plagued the Turnpike and E-ZPass for a long time now,” said Pillets in an interview with NJ Spotlight News. “But we found that there were questions about the background of this company, connecting it to security issues, connecting it to foreign governments, China in particular.

Read the full story here

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Trump escalates Canadian trade, doubling tariff on steel, aluminum

*The ArcelorMittal Dofasco steel production facility in Hamilton, Ontario. Canada is the United States’ biggest supplier of aluminum and steel.Credit…Carlos Osorio/Reuters*

From the New York Times

President Trump said in a social media post on Tuesday morning that he would impose an additional 25 percent tariff on Canadian steel and aluminum, doubling the levies he planned to put in place on Wednesday, and reiterated his notion that Canada should be part of the United States. He framed such an outcome as inevitable: “The artificial line of separation drawn many years ago will finally disappear,” he wrote.

Market uncertainty: Investors were struggling to understand Mr. Trump’s trade policies as he announced the heavier tariffs, which he described as a response to surcharges on electricity generated in Canada and used by U.S. customers. The S&P 500 was down again a day after Wall Street turned in its worst performance of 2025, spooked by Mr. Trump’s refusal to rule out the possibility his policies could trigger a recession.

This is a developing story. Expect updates

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Supreme Court nixes red states’ bid to quash climate cases

Two conservative justices said they would have allowed Republican state attorneys general to sue their Democratic counterparts for pursuing climate lawsuits against oil companies.

By Lesley Clark, E&E News

The Supreme Court has blocked an attempt by 19 red states to end a set of climate lawsuits against the oil and gas industry.

In an order issued Monday, the justices rejected a request by Republican state attorneys general to challenge five of their Democratic counterparts who have sued oil companies for compensation for the costs of rising tides, intensifying storms and other disasters worsened by climate change.

The Supreme Court is the first — and only — court to hear legal battles among states, although the justices are not obligated to take up such cases.

Justice Clarence Thomas, who has taken a more expansive view of the court’s obligation to look at state disputes, wrote a dissent from Monday’s order, which Justice Samuel Alito joined.

Thomas wrote that the red states allege that the climate liability lawsuits against oil companies violate the separation of powers and the federal government’s “exclusive authority over interstate emissions.” He said he would grant the states the right to proceed with their case.

He said the court’s assumption that it has the discretion to decline to review lawsuits between the states is “suspect at best” and a “modern invention that the Court has never persuasively justified.”

Thomas said the Supreme Court’s reluctance to accept jurisdiction in lawsuits between states is troubling because the court is the only one that can hear such cases.

Read the full story here

Supreme Court nixes red states’ bid to quash climate cases Read More »

Trump’s Team Outlines Plans for a ‘Golden Era’ of American Energy

California governor sends EPR rules back to the drawing board

Former NJ Governor and EPA chief Christie Whitman decries Trump regulatory reversal of environmental protections

Award of NJ Turnpike’s $1.73 billion E-ZPass deal raises questions

Trump escalates Canadian trade, doubling tariff on steel, aluminum

Supreme Court nixes red states’ bid to quash climate cases

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