Joe Biden has officially pulled out all the stops in his quest to make gas prices skyrocket and energy independence a distant memory. In a classic last-minute maneuver, Biden banned future offshore oil and gas drilling in massive swaths of U.S. coastal waters—just days before Donald Trump is set to retake the Oval Office. It’s almost as if Biden’s trying to cement his climate policies while slapping a giant “good luck undoing this” sticker on the door for Trump.
Let’s call this what it is: a parting shot at the incoming administration and Trump’s promise to restore America’s energy dominance. Trump campaigned on a platform of expanding drilling and slashing red tape, and he’s vowed to dismantle Biden’s green agenda on day one. But Biden’s move—using a dusty, 70-year-old law, the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act—is designed to block that plan cold. It’s a political trap that Biden hopes Trump won’t be able to sidestep easily without the help of Congress.
Biden’s ban covers more than 625 million acres of federal waters, including areas off the East and West coasts, the eastern Gulf of Mexico, and parts of Alaska’s northern Bering Sea. Notably, it leaves the central Gulf of Mexico untouched—likely to avoid alienating every energy-producing state in the South. Still, the ban makes it clear that Biden is prioritizing appeasing environmental activists over the energy needs of everyday Americans.
Today, lame duck Joe Biden announced an anti-American oil drilling ban.
Just a few months ago, Jean-Pierre told us Biden was ‘focused on securing America’s energy independence.’
The repeated lies and flip-flops are why President @realDonaldTrump won in a landslide on November… pic.twitter.com/8P6HsyWEqq
— Daniel Turner (@DanielTurnerPTF) January 6, 2025
Unsurprisingly, Trump’s camp wasn’t having it. Spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt called out Biden’s move for what it is: a politically motivated stunt aimed at “revenge on the American people” who rejected the Biden administration’s failed policies. And she’s not wrong. Biden’s decisions have repeatedly driven up gas prices and weakened energy security. What better way to cement his legacy than by handing off a mess for the next guy to clean up?
BOOM! Trump just announced he will TERMINATE all the last minute executive orders that Biden’s handlers put out!
Nothing will stand in his way! pic.twitter.com/qRU8beZBRq
— Gunther Eagleman™ (@GuntherEagleman) January 6, 2025
For Biden, this is about optics. He’s invoking the specter of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon spill and tossing in some platitudes about protecting coastal communities for “our children and grandchildren.” And sure, it’s all wrapped in the tidy bow of his climate agenda, complete with the lofty goal of conserving 30% of American lands and waters by 2030. But let’s not pretend this decision is purely about environmental stewardship—it’s about tying Trump’s hands.
Meanwhile, energy experts are sounding the alarm. The American Petroleum Institute slammed the move as a threat to American energy security, urging Congress to reverse this politically charged decision. The fact is, the United States can’t maintain a stable energy supply by leaning entirely on renewables and offshore wind farms. Biden may think he’s safeguarding the future, but he’s leaving Americans to grapple with higher energy costs and greater reliance on foreign oil.
Biden’s supporters are cheering, calling this an “epic ocean victory.” But for the rest of us, it looks like yet another example of out-of-touch leadership that prioritizes pandering over practicality. Coastal communities don’t just want pristine beaches—they want affordable energy, jobs, and the ability to prosper without government overreach.
Trump promised “energy dominance,” and Biden just promised us more red tape. Come January 20, we’ll see whose vision prevails.
