President Trump Restores Coal’s Role in National Security
President Donald Trump signed an executive order this week directing the Department of War to enter into long-term power purchase agreements with America’s coal-fired power plants. The move will strengthen grid reliability and national defense.
The order, “Strengthening United States National Defense with America’s Beautiful Clean Coal Power Generation Fleet,”makes clear that a resilient electric grid is the foundation of both military readiness and economic security. Under the directive, the Secretary of War, in coordination with the Department of Energy, will ensure reliable electricity from the U.S. coal fleet to power military bases and other mission-critical facilities.
Speaking at the White House, Trump framed coal as vital to defense and industrial production and even cited its reliability during the winter storm Fern.
“More than 200 million Americans across 35 states were impacted by the storm, and the only reason most were able to take a hot shower was thanks to the power provided by the most reliable, dependable of, and really dependable form of energy that we have,” Trump said. “And that’s clean, beautiful coal.”
This is something we recently explored in our report, Frozen By Fern. The report shows that despite years of subsidies and mandates, intermittent renewables still fail when conditions are toughest.
President Trump’s administration continues to prioritize reliability, security, and American jobs. National defense cannot depend on weather patterns. It depends on strength, and that strength runs on coal.
February 12, 2026