| By David Gelles, New York Times |
Last year, President Trump gathered with executives from the oil and gas industry at the White House to discuss a range of topics, including drilling and tariffs.
Few details emerged from the March 2025 meeting at the time, leaving many to wonder what exactly had transpired. Now, our colleagues Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan have answers.
In the new book “Regime Change,” they provide an account of that meeting that sheds additional light on Trump’s affinity for fossil fuels and his willingness to exert presidential power.
At one point during the meeting, the executives began complaining about the Climate Superfund bills that had recently passed in Vermont and New York. As they spoke, Trump’s policy adviser, Stephen Miller, was texting the attorney general, Pam Bondi. “I’m on it,” Miller told the group. Less than two months later, the administration sued both states, seeking to block enforcement of the laws.
In another instance, the ExxonMobil chief executive, Darren Woods, voiced concerns about European Union regulations that required big companies to monitor and reduce the environmental effects of their activities and develop “climate transition plans.”
Haberman and Swan report that, upon hearing this, Trump instructed Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to impose additional tariffs on the E.U. until they abandoned those regulations.