How Trump turned around a Biden energy policy based on hand waves and lies
The difference between the Trump and Biden energy agendas is more than two different policy positions.It is a tale of two opposed visions of the role of government in shaping the future.While the 100-day mark of the Trump presidency is a natural time to reflect on the early months, the more useful examination of the new president’s energy agenda is a direct comparison to two specific moments from the Biden years.The first instance was the “pause” in liquid natural gas (LNG) exports.
In January 2024, President Joe Biden announced a halt to future LNG exports pending further study of “economic and environmental impacts.”This decision did not stem from congressional determination or popular outcry.There was no consultation from outside groups, just a unilateral decision, vague and indecisive, compelling both industry and markets to adapt to the state of confusion.When would the study conclude? Who was conducting it? What were the metrics for determining future decisions?No one, not even the Biden administration, knew the answers.
The pause was not based in quantifiable science or explicable fact, but purely in amorphous, shape-shifting political goo.So nebulous was this action that even Biden himself would later admit to House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) that he had no idea what he was talking about.Contrast that to the Trump administration, which not only ended the LNG pause on Inauguration Day but has since approved four new expansion projects, including a $44 billion joint venture with Japan and South Korea to build an LNG pipeline in Alaska.It has also created a new White House Energy Dominance Council for the sole purpose of fast-tracking energy production.Two presidents, two visions: Biden demands industry pause until government could catch up.
Trump orders government to get out of the way so industry can thrive.The second instance occurred in July 2022, when a sweaty Biden gave a climate-change speech in an empty lot in Massachusetts boasting about...