PRESIDENT TRUMP: "I see it just came over that Biden has banned all oil and gas drilling across 625 million acres of U.S. coastal territory. It's ridiculous. I'll unban it immediately." pic.twitter.com/mGijm5N6v7
— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) January 6, 2025
You will not be surprised to learn that convicted felon President-Elect Trump cannot, in fact, “unban it immediately,” as according to Axios, “Unlike executive orders that Trump could overturn with the stroke of a pen, Biden’s actions rely on an open-ended provision in the 1953 Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act. This law governs energy leasing activities for submerged lands under US control that are beyond three miles from shore. A provision in the act allows the president to permanently take parts of the Outer Continental Shelf off the table for leasing activities, without providing a means for another president to undo the action.” Meaning Biden effectively pardoned the areas from drilling.