Trump Administration Doubles Down on Coal
The Trump administration is moving aggressively to strengthen America’s coal industry, reverse Biden-era regulations and preserve the reliable power plants the country increasingly needs.
E&E News reports that EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin told the newly revived National Coal Council that the administration has already completed “many of the items” on the industry’s policy agenda, with additional regulatory actions expected in the coming months.
According to E&E News, the administration is working to repeal Biden-era power plant regulations, expand federal coal leasing, accelerate mine approvals, prevent additional plant retirements and increase American coal exports. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said the federal government has opened more than 13 million acres for coal leasing, while Energy Secretary Chris Wright emphasized that the goal is “not just to stop the closure, but where can we grow.”
“The world needs more coal,” Wright said.
He is right.
Coal is core to America. It provides reliable electricity, supports good-paying jobs, powers American industry and supplies the metallurgical coal needed to manufacture steel.
For years, Bloomberg-funded activist groups pushed an ideological campaign to eliminate coal, while the Obama and Biden administrations adopted regulations designed to accomplish that objective from inside the federal government. The result was fewer dependable power plants and a weaker electric grid.
President Trump and his administration are finally reversing that managed decline.
America needs more electricity, not fewer power plants. It needs abundant domestic resources, not artificial scarcity. And it needs an energy policy that treats American coal workers as an asset, not an obstacle.
July 22, 2026