From Crisis to Dominance: Trump’s Strategy to Revitalize America’s Energy Future

America First Energy Policy: Biden-Era Policies Dismantled

In his first administration, President Trump championed energy policies aimed at maximizing the United States’ abundant energy resources. His focus was on energy independence, with key investments in oil and gas, coal, and nuclear energy. In his second administration, Biden-era policies that restricted oil and gas production led Trump to declare a national energy emergency on day one. Shortly thereafter, Trump published two important executive orders that would begin to formulate the basis for Trump’s energy policy going forward.

Trump believes that his initiatives and policies will improve the efficiency of America’s energy resources, encourage competition, and reduce costs for American consumers. He also believes in reinforcing U.S. leadership in the global energy market to enhance security for both America and its allies.

In January and February, Trump signed two pivotal Executive Orders to strengthen U.S. energy dominance. These orders—one titled "Unleashing American Energy" (January 2025) and the other "Establishing the National Energy Dominance Council" (February 2025)–together represent complementary efforts that build on Trump's previous energy policies. The EOs work hand in hand to move the U.S. towards unleashing energy dominance both at home and abroad.

Broadly, the January 20 Executive Order (EO) reduces regulatory barriers and encourages private investment in energy exploration, unlocking the full potential of the nation's vast resources.

The February 14 EO, on the other hand, focuses on strategic global energy influence. It establishes the National Energy Dominance Council, chaired by Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, to drive a whole-of-government approach aimed at reducing the nation’s reliance on foreign energy and to improve U.S. leadership on a global scale.

The following is a breakdown of the key differences between these two Executive Orders:

Domestic energy initiatives are at the center of the January EO. It aims to reduce regulatory burdens that hinder U.S. dominance in the energy sector. Key initiatives include:

· The revocation of all previous Biden-era “climate crisis” energy policies and EOs and abolishes the associated offices.

· Encouraging energy exploration and production on federal lands and waters, including the Outer Continental Shelf.

· Prioritizing reliable energy sources such as oil and gas, coal, and nuclear energy over Biden-era whole-of-government efforts to achieve net carbon zero or investing in intermittent renewables like wind and solar.

· Eliminating the “electric vehicle (EV) mandate.”

· Promoting market competition and consumer choice for a variety of goods and appliances.

· Seeking to reduce the regulatory burden on the domestic energy industry.

The February 14 EO seeks not only to improve domestic energy production but also positions the U.S. to achieve dominance in the global energy market. It proposes:

· A forward-looking approach to position America as a leader in energy production while securing the energy supply chain for the U.S. and its allies.

· Reduction of America’s reliance on foreign energy sources.

· Facilitation of energy exports, especially liquified natural gas (LNG).

· Strengthening relationships with international allies and seeking to reduce geopolitical vulnerabilities.

These orders provide a stark contrast to Biden's energy policies, policies that seemed to choke off almost every reliable or cost-effective American energy resource. While introducing the debut of the National Energy Dominance Council, Burgum criticized Biden’s energy policies, calling them “a war against American energy” while declaring that the “war has officially ended.”

Burgum elaborated, explaining Biden’s senseless policies severely undermined America’s economic potential. He also shared Trump’s pragmatic approach to energy policy:

“…under the Biden administration, [he] restricted the production of oil and gas production,– production still coming. But when you stop holding leases, when you take 625,000,000 acres of land out of production possibilities through executive order, you're really restricting the balance sheet of America,” Burgum explained.

“We need a whole-of-government approach to unwind [Biden’s policies],” he continued. “The Biden administration had a whole of government approach that would have the war against U.S. energy. Now we need to turn that around 180° and unleash that potential. We've got to.”

“From the Gulf of America all the way up to Alaska, we have amazing resources in this country and we haven't been getting a return on them,” added Burgum. “Many of these are under public lands. The interior has 500 million acres of surface, 700 million acres of subsurface minerals, critical minerals, and offshore close to 2 billion acres.”

“That balance sheet is the biggest in the world, and it's been completely underutilized. Everybody knows we have 36 trillion in debt as a country, but no one knows how many hundreds of trillions of dollars of assets we have. And President Trump is asking us to go get a return on that investment for the American people.”

Burgum also pointed to the AI arms race with China as a compelling reason for ensuring the U.S. invests in reliable energy sources. The demand for computing power, especially in AI, is placing a significant load on the power grid due to the need for large data centers. Right now, said Burgum, “we have too much intermittent, unreliable [sources of energy] and not enough base load and we’ve been shutting down the base load we have.”

Energy expert Dave Walsh echoed the need for reliable energy sources to meet the needs of consumers, industry, and the decrepit and inadequate power grid. He also mentioned the need for clean coal to support AI data centers. In a February 15 interview with the War Room’s Steve Bannon, Walsh stressed that Trump’s focus should be on reliable

“all-in energy abundance and low cost, essentially necessary for manufacturing, and a reduction in the cost of energy which is now crippling. We need a base load and less intermittent electricity.” Walsh continued, “The reinvigoration of the Continental pipeline would support badly needed natural gas deliveries to New York. Get gas to New Englanders where it is desperately needed.”

Walsh also criticized Biden’s energy investments; policies he believes have caused an “economic disaster.” The disaster, he noted, was caused by capital investments that focused almost exclusively on “new power generation in this country.” Walsh went on to say that 91% of Biden’s investment in energy went toward green energy or intermittent renewables like wind and solar.

“The last five years the investment has been on intermittent renewables that operate on average about 24 to 25 percent of the time and don't operate 75% of the time,” said Walsh. “About 100 billion a year in total was spent on capital when we normally spend about 65 billion a year.”

“So we've spent about 56% more money on equipment that's basically churning away from base load, full time energy devices, coal, gas and nuclear over the last five years and spending about 42 billion a year going forward in incentivizing more energy devices by the Biden administration, solar and wind and battery storage that cost from 6 to 11 times more for repairs…This has been a false economy, one that is very ruinous.”

The contrast between Trump’s approach and Biden's energy policies highlights a profound and fundamental difference in priorities. Trump places national security, economic growth, and energy independence at the forefront. By unlocking the full potential of America’s vast energy resources, President Trump seeks to lower energy costs, secure a prosperous, self-sufficient future for the nation, and solidify America’s position in the global energy market.