Trump administration reopens hundreds of millions of acres for oil drilling
The Trump administration has reinstated oil and gas leases across hundreds of millions of acres of federal land and waters.
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Even before the Trump administration released a draft plan on November 20 proposing a broad expansion of oil and gas drilling and lease sales along the U.S. coast, including California, Alaska and Florida, Californians were already gearing up for a fight.
The administration has announced up to 34 potential offshore lease sales across 21 of the 27 existing off-shelf planning areas, covering approximately 1.27 billion acres. This includes 21 areas off the coast of Alaska, seven areas in the U.S. Gulf of America, and six areas along the Pacific Coast.
Shortly after the plan was withdrawn on Thursday afternoon, November 20, California Attorney General Rob Bonta said in a statement that his office opposes the plan in its entirety.
“California takes seriously its responsibility to steward its environment and natural resources. California is not a playground for the rich and the president cannot come and extract resources at will,” Bonta said. “California cannot sit idly by and watch as the Trump administration marches on to line the pockets of its wealthy friends and wreak havoc on our coastal towns and waterways.”
The plan is expected to draw widespread opposition from state leaders, lawmakers and environmental groups. After initial details were leaked in November, California Governor Gavin Newsom posted on his social media that plans to expand drilling or sell leases off California’s coast would be “dead on arrival.”
Professor Richard Frank, director of the California Center for Environmental Law and Policy at the University of California, Davis, said several California municipalities and environmental groups are also prepared to file lawsuits.
“There is broad bipartisan agreement within the state if the Trump administration is going to move forward with offshore drilling,” Frank told USA TODAY. “It’s going to be quite a fight.”
Burgum’s order implements the provisions of President Donald Trump’s “Freeing America’s Energy” executive order issued earlier this year and implements the provisions of the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act.”
In a brief outline of its plans, Earthjustice said it proposes to drill off the coast of California for the first time since 1984, conduct six offshore lease sales from 2027 to 2030, drill in all available offshore areas in Alaska, including the eastern U.S. Gulf of America and “the High Arctic, which extends 200 miles into the Arctic Ocean, and conduct more than 20 lease sales by 2031.”
In early fall, the administration announced plans to expand drilling in Alaska’s wilderness.
A news release from Interior Secretary Doug Burgum attacked the Biden administration, saying the new proposal “replaces the smallest offshore leasing plan the administration has ever announced with a plan that fully addresses the nation’s growing energy needs.”
“The Biden administration has put the brakes on offshore oil and gas leasing, crippling the long-term pipeline of U.S. offshore production,” Burgum said. “Advancing the development of a solid, forward-thinking leasing plan will keep America’s offshore industry strong, keep workers employed, and ensure our nation maintains its energy advantage for decades to come.”
The department describes the 2026-2032 External Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Lease Program as “a major step toward promoting U.S. energy independence and preserving domestic oil and gas production.”
Brettney Hardy, Earthjustice’s lead attorney, said in a statement that the administration is “threatening to force offshore oil drilling into states, cities, and communities that have opposed it for decades.”
“Trump’s plan would jeopardize the health and well-being of millions of people living along our coasts and destroy countless marine ecosystems on which both humans and wildlife depend,” Hardy said. “This administration continues to put the oil industry above people, our shared environment, and our laws.”
The oil and gas industry has previously pledged support for the administration’s plan, calling in a June 2025 letter to consider all areas that have the potential to create jobs and revenue and “advance American energy dominance.”
Widespread opposition is expected from additional environmental groups concerned about the damage that could result from starting drilling in new areas, as well as from groups that have supported clean energy initiatives to curb climate warming exacerbated by greenhouse gas emissions.
In October, a group of more than 100 members of Congress called on Mr. Trump and Mr. Burgum to halt their “plans to enter into new offshore oil and gas lease agreements in U.S. federal waters.” USA TODAY has reached out to House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) for comment.
Florida senators have also been quick to voice their opposition. Earlier this year, Sen. Ashley Moody (R-Florida) proposed a bill that would ban oil drilling and natural gas exploration and development near Florida’s coastline and extend existing drilling moratoriums in states including Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina until 2032.
Almost 70 percent of California’s roughly 40 million residents live near coastal waters, further increasing concerns about offshore drilling, Frank said.
Dinah Boyles Pulver and Terry Collins are national correspondents for USA TODAY. Please contact us at dpulver@usatoday.com and tcollins@usatoday.com.
