How Trump May Be Able to Stop Biden’s Ban on New Offshore Drilling

Este artículo estará disponible en español en El Tiempo Latino. President-elect Donald Trump said that when he takes office he will “immediately” reverse President Joe Biden’s recent executive action making 625 million acres of U.S. coastal waters off limits for new offshore drilling. But Trump’s intent to quickly “unban” any future oil and gas drilling in those areas may not be as simple as he suggests. That’s because Biden issued his ban using authority granted to presidents by the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, a 1953 law that allows presidents to protect unleased lands of the outer continental shelf from oil and gas development. In 2019, a federal judge ruled that any such prohibition could be overturned by Congress — but not a future president. However, after Biden announced the new ban on Jan. 6, the incoming president pledged to undo it. “I see it just came over that Biden has banned all oil and gas drilling across 625 million acres of U.S. coastal territory,” Trump said in a Jan. 6 interview with conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt. “It’s ridiculous. I’ll unban it immediately. I will unban it. I have the right to unban it immediately.” The next day, in...