Top 5 Energy Actions You Should Know from President Trump’s First Day

On January 20, 2025, President Trump began his second term with the signing of 26 executive orders (EOs), which included the recission of almost 80 EOs of the previous administration. Trump’s orders contain both repeals of key Biden Administration policies and calls to agency action to reassess treatment of major energy issues associated with domestic energy production. Here are the top five actions to know from President Trump’s first day as the new administration begins its reshaping of U.S. energy policy for his second term in office.

1. Boosting Energy Exploration and Production on Federal Lands and Waters. President Trump’s EOs deliver on his campaign promise to support domestic production of fossil fuels in encouraging energy exploration and production on federal lands and waters, including on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). In pursuit of his goal to open up federal waters for oil and gas development, President Trump revoked a ban imposed by the Biden Administration on new offshore oil and gas development along most of the country’s coastlines, as well as revoking an earlier action from the Biden Administration that prevented oil and gas drilling in 2.8 million acres in the Arctic Ocean.
2. Pausing Leasing for Wind Projects. President Trump ordered the withdrawal of all areas within OCS from wind energy leasing. The withdrawal goes into effect on January 21, 2025, and remains in effect until the EO is revoked. The EO does not apply to leasing in the OCS related to any other purposes, such as oil and gas production, and does not affect rights under existing leases in withdrawn areas. With respect to existing leases, President Trump ordered the Secretary of the Interior to review existing wind energy leases and identify any legal bases for removal or recission. The order also pauses leasing and permitting for both offshore and onshore wind projects pending a comprehensive review of federal wind leasing and permitting practices.
3. Freeze Lifted on LNG Export Permits. President Trump ordered the Secretary of Energy to restart reviews of applications for approvals of liquified natural gas (LNG) export projects. In January 2024, former President Biden had paused the Department of Energy’s approvals of LNG exports to countries (including China and European Union members) lacking a free trade agreement with the U.S., in order to study the economic and environmental impacts of such exports. Trump’s order also directed the U.S. Maritime Administration, which has jurisdiction over the siting of deepwater LNG export projects, to expeditiously issue licenses to projects. The directive is one of many in an EO titled “Unleashing American Energy” that is aimed at promoting certain forms of domestic energy production—particularly “oil, natural gas, coal, hydropower, biofuels, critical mineral, and nuclear energy resources.” The U.S. is the world’s largest LNG exporter.
4. Boosting Development of Alaska’s Natural Resources. President Trump ordered agency heads across the federal government to revoke, rescind, or revise regulations that are inconsistent with resource development in Alaska, including restrictions on oil and gas leasing in the Artic National Wildlife Refuge. The EO seeks to reshape federal policy such that the United States “fully avail[s] itself of Alaska’s vast lands and resources for the benefit of the Nation and the American citizens who call Alaska home.” The EO lays out various provisions which aim to smooth the path toward more drilling for oil and gas, and more logging, mining, and hunting on federal lands, including prioritizing the development and permitting of the Alaska LNG Project. It revokes the Biden Administration’s actions that halted oil and gas exploration in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, as well as denies a request that the Biden Administration considered to establish a sacred indigenous site in the Artic National Wildlife Refuge. The executive order puts federal policies on Alaska back in line with Trump’s first administration.
5. Pause on IRA and IIJA Funds Disbursement. President Trump’s EO “Unleashing American Energy,” directed agencies to immediately pause the disbursement of funds appropriated through the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (IRA) and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2022 (IIJA). Agency leaders are further directed to review their policies and programs for issuing the funding to align with the Trump Administration’s policy agenda. Funds may only be disbursed once the Director of OMB and Assistant to the President for Economic Policy determine that the disbursements are in accordance with the recommendations they have chosen to accept. Legal challenges to President Trump’s efforts to impound the IRA and IIJA funds are expected.

Executive Orders do not have the force and effect of regulations per se, but nonetheless are powerful statements of presidential policy and direction that can have immediate legal and/or practical consequences. Presidents are generally free to revoke the EOs of their predecessor without meeting the type of procedure requirement necessary for changing a regulation, which is the case with the revocation of many of President Biden’s EOs here. Stay tuned for further EOs and specific agency actions implementing President Trump’s policies.

This post is as of the posting date stated above. Sidley Austin LLP assumes no duty to update this post or post about any subsequent developments having a bearing on this post.