Trump seeks growth in U.S. coal mining, energy industry

President Donald Trump extolled the virtues of coal, calling it beautiful and clean during a news conference Tuesday afternoon to mark his signing of the executive orders. The orders aim to bring back an industry the Biden administration abandoned, he said. Coal remains a prime energy source due to its power and efficiency, he said.

What do these executive orders accomplish? One of the orders designates coal as essential to both the economic and national security of the United States. It calls on Trump administration officials to identify federal lands rich in coal resources and fast-track the approval of mining leases. It also orders officials to identify and eliminate federal restrictions on coal mining.

Trump on Tuesday signed an additional executive order aimed at strengthening the reliability of the nation’s electrical grid. He also signed an order directing the U.S. attorney general to aggressively prosecute state and local governments for environmental laws the administration says illegally restrict the growth of the energy industry.

What are critics saying about the orders? Leaders of the U.S. Climate Alliance released a joint statement against Trump’s order regarding state and local governments. The executive branch can’t strip the states’ constitutional authority, wrote Democratic New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, who co-chair the alliance. They said they planned to keep advancing “solutions to the climate crisis” that protect clean air and water and make the future healthier and safer.

Why does Trump believe these orders are needed now? The president insisted that the United States needs to more than double its current output of electricity to maintain its position as the world leader in artificial intelligence technology. He said China is trailing the United States in AI while increasing its available power by aggressively opening roughly two coal plants every week.

Dig deeper: Read Amy Lewis’ report on how Wyoming is cautiously embracing a U.S. resurgence in nuclear power.