Trump signs a series of executive orders to boost coal production

Donald Trump signed a series of executive orders to boost coal production in the United States. For the signings, the president surrounded himself with a group of miners at the White House, even giving one of them an autograph to "make money" later. During his speech, Trump sharply criticized the bureaucratic hurdles imposed by the Biden administration and promised to lead an energy revolution.

"The Biden energy policy was to put America last... Under my administration, we're putting America FIRST. On my first day in office, I terminated the Green New Scam, I declared the National Energy Emergency and withdrew from the unfair, one-sided Paris Climate Accord," the president said.

"We're slashing unnecessary regulations that targeted the beautiful clean coal. We will rapidly expedite leases for coal mining in federal lands... We'll streamline permitting, we will end the government bias against coal, and we're going to unlock the sweeping authorities of the Defense Production Act," he added.

This legislation was enacted in 1950 by President Harry Truman as a response to the start of the Korean War. It gives the president the power to increase the supply of materials and services supporting national defense. For example, Joe Biden used it in 2021 to accelerate the production of fire hoses to increase supplies to fight wildfires.

According to the White House, the executive orders were designed to "reinvigorate" the coal industry, lift Biden-era restrictions, bolster the reliability of power grid security and protect this industry from "overreach by radical leftists in the states."

Doug Burgum and Chris Wright, who serve as secretaries of the Interior and Energy, respectively, attended the event. Lee Zeldin, administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), was also present.

"Today's EO will power American energy (including clean, beautiful coal) to lower costs, increase domestic supply and improve the security of our grid as we begin the journey to become the artificial intelligence capital of the world," Zeldin celebrated after the event on his social media.

For his part, the secretary of the interior immediately announced the end of the moratorium on federal coal leasing, a measure imposed by the former Democratic president. He reopened federal lands in Montana and Wyoming for coal leasing.

"The Golden Age is here, and we are starting to ‘Mine, Baby, Mine’ for clean American coal. Interior is unlocking America’s full potential in energy dominance and economic development to make life more affordable for every American family while showing the world the power of America’s natural resources and innovation," Burgum said via a statement.