President Joe Biden is reportedly preparing to restrict offshore oil and gas drilling in his final days in office, a move that would placate the environmentalist lobby and potentially obstruct President-elect Donald Trump’s plans to unleash the U.S. energy sector, according to Bloomberg News.
Biden’s reportedly forthcoming order would permanently ban new lease sales for oil and gas drilling in certain regions of the outer continental shelf, according to Bloomberg News, which cited anonymous sources familiar with the situation. Some elected Democrats and many well-funded green groups have pushed Biden to implement permanent environmental policies in the waning days of his presidency to fluster Trump’s “energy dominance” agenda.
While the scope of the order is currently unclear, there have been internal discussions about targeting certain areas off the coast of California and in the Gulf of Mexico, according to Bloomberg News. It is also unclear when the administration will announce the policy, though it could be within a matter of days. (RELATED: White House Touts Support Of Confrontational Enviro Group That Harassed Admin Officials, Dems)