Exclusives

EXCLUSIVE: GOP Lawmakers Press Lame Duck Biden Energy Sec For Answers On Massive Offshore Drilling Crackdown

Official White House Photo by David Lienemann.

Republican lawmakers on the House Energy and Commerce Committee are pushing outgoing Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm to detail her agency’s level of involvement in the White House’s newly-announced crackdown on offshore oil and gas drilling.

Republican Reps. Bob Latta of Ohio and Brett Guthrie of Kentucky, the Energy and Commerce Committee’s new chairman, wrote to Granholm on Sunday ahead of the White House’s official decision to ban future offshore oil and gas activity across 625 million acres of federally-controlled waters. The two lawmakers called on Granholm to explain whether her agency was consulted in the decision-making process and whether the Department of Energy (DOE) provided any analysis on the subject to other officials.

“Pursuant to the Committee’s jurisdiction over the Department of Energy (Department) and national energy policy, we request you provide an immediate explanation whether the White House or the Department of Interior discussed or consulted with you or any employees at the Department about the plans to close off access to offshore resources and, if so, what analysis the Department provided in response,” the lawmakers wrote.

E+C DOE Letter by Nick Pope on Scribd

“The Department is charged with overseeing U.S. energy policy, ensuring America’s security and prosperity,” Latta and Guthrie continued. “Any decision to shut down access to significant American energy resources impacts U.S. energy policy and should be reviewed by the Department … As the Secretary of Energy, you have an obligation to weigh in on this matter and insist on a full review of the energy security and economic impacts before any decisions are finalized.”

The White House statement announcing the new ban — which covers the East Coast, much of the West Coast, part of the Gulf of Mexico and the Bering Sea off the Alaskan Coast — implied that the policy decision will cement President Joe Biden’s legacy on climate and energy policy.

President-elect Donald Trump pledged to roll back Biden’s designations on Monday, though the law that Biden invoked to take the acreage off the table could make it difficult for Trump to unilaterally walk back the new policy. However, Trump could likely and more easily team up with the Republican-led Congress to undo the policy via the Congressional Review Act, according to Daren Bakst, director of the Competitive Enterprise Institute’s Center for Energy and Environment.

The new crackdown on offshore oil and gas drilling marks the latest move by the lame duck Biden administration to advance aggressive climate policies before Trump returns to office. Since the 2024 election, the Biden administration has pushed out massive loans for green energy companies, set up California to push the American auto market toward electric vehicles (EVs) and more.