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Saturday, Nov 01, 2025
Outside the box.
White House Drops Atlantic from Offshore-Drilling Plan After GOP Backlash
Administration removes U.S. Atlantic waters from new five-year oil-and-gas-lease proposal amid coastal resistance
The Trump administration has removed federal waters off the U.S. Atlantic coast from its forthcoming five-year offshore oil and gas leasing plan, according to three people familiar with the deliberations.
The revision follows intense opposition from Republican lawmakers in Atlantic-adjacent states who urged the White House to keep rigs away from their shores.
Under the updated framework, the United States Department of the Interior will still pursue lease offerings off the California coast and parts of the eastern Gulf of Mexico, while carving out a buffer zone of at least one hundred nautical miles around Florida, where drilling opposition has long been bipartisan.
The narrower focus aims to advance new domestic energy production while accommodating regional political sensitivities.
Regional Republicans, including Florida Senator Rick Scott, and coastal legislators from Atlantic-states warned that the earlier proposal to open the Atlantic had become a “political hot potato.” After receiving those objections, President Donald Trump reportedly instructed aides to drop the Atlantic component entirely.
The drilling plan remains under review and has not yet been formally announced.
Officials expect a public proposal imminently, pending regulatory environmental reviews and stakeholder comment.
The delay has been attributed in part to the ongoing government shutdown and the frequent travel schedule of Interior Secretary Doug Burgum.
Energy-industry participants say few firms expressed interest in Atlantic leases anyway, focusing instead on a small region of the eastern Gulf — just south of Alabama’s border with Florida — which is seen as more commercially viable.
Meanwhile, California’s political leadership, including Governor Gavin Newsom, has voiced strong opposition to any offshore drilling near its coast, raising potential friction as the revised plan includes Pacific-adjacent prospects.
The shift underscores how energy-policy ambitions under the Trump administration are being shaped not only by national goals but by local and regional political backlash.
With the Atlantic region shelved, attention will centre on how rapidly the Interior Department advances its leasing timeline in the Gulf and off the West Coast, and how the administration balances expanded fossil-fuel production with coastal-economy and environmental risk concerns.
The revision follows intense opposition from Republican lawmakers in Atlantic-adjacent states who urged the White House to keep rigs away from their shores.
Under the updated framework, the United States Department of the Interior will still pursue lease offerings off the California coast and parts of the eastern Gulf of Mexico, while carving out a buffer zone of at least one hundred nautical miles around Florida, where drilling opposition has long been bipartisan.
The narrower focus aims to advance new domestic energy production while accommodating regional political sensitivities.
Regional Republicans, including Florida Senator Rick Scott, and coastal legislators from Atlantic-states warned that the earlier proposal to open the Atlantic had become a “political hot potato.” After receiving those objections, President Donald Trump reportedly instructed aides to drop the Atlantic component entirely.
The drilling plan remains under review and has not yet been formally announced.
Officials expect a public proposal imminently, pending regulatory environmental reviews and stakeholder comment.
The delay has been attributed in part to the ongoing government shutdown and the frequent travel schedule of Interior Secretary Doug Burgum.
Energy-industry participants say few firms expressed interest in Atlantic leases anyway, focusing instead on a small region of the eastern Gulf — just south of Alabama’s border with Florida — which is seen as more commercially viable.
Meanwhile, California’s political leadership, including Governor Gavin Newsom, has voiced strong opposition to any offshore drilling near its coast, raising potential friction as the revised plan includes Pacific-adjacent prospects.
The shift underscores how energy-policy ambitions under the Trump administration are being shaped not only by national goals but by local and regional political backlash.
With the Atlantic region shelved, attention will centre on how rapidly the Interior Department advances its leasing timeline in the Gulf and off the West Coast, and how the administration balances expanded fossil-fuel production with coastal-economy and environmental risk concerns.
