A federal judge appointed by then-President Donald Trump temporarily blocked the Biden administration’s pause on liquefied natural gas (LNG) export permits on Monday, granting a victory to a coalition of more than a dozen states that contested the ban. Judge James Cain issued a preliminary injunction following a request from 16 Republican states, who argued that the climate initiative would negatively impact their economies.
In January, the Department of Energy halted all new approvals for LNG exports to countries not covered by Free Trade Agreements, aiming to evaluate the impact of new LNG projects on carbon emissions. Cain determined that federal officials did not adequately justify the necessity for the environmental review, anticipated to continue into early next year.
“Here, it appears that the DOE has failed to provide a more detailed justification for its halt of the approval process to conduct an update, especially considering that past precedent, which the applicants relied upon, allowed the approval of the applications to proceed when updates were made,” the federal judge wrote. The Biden administration’s decision to halt LNG approvals was “completely without reason or logic and is perhaps the epiphany of ideocracy,” he added.
“We remain committed to informing our decisions with the best available economic and environmental analysis, underpinned by sound science,” a White House spokesperson said, adding that the administration was “disappointed” with the injunction. “The United States remains the world’s largest exporter of LNG, and is currently on track to more than double existing capacity by the end of this decade.” The Energy Department also “disagreed” with the ruling and said officials would weigh options.
But supporters of the pause praised the ruling for dealing a major blow to the Biden administration’s radical left climate agenda. “This is a big win for the country’s energy industry and the millions of jobs it supports against the attacks from the Biden administration to further its radical climate change agenda at the expense of our economy,” said West Virginia attorney general Patrick Morrisey, one of the state attorney generals leading the challenge. “This administration’s Energy Department has no such authority to justify this ban – authority on matters like this lies with Congress and Congress alone,” he added.
West Virginia was one of 22 states that called for an end to the LNG export pause in February. They argued that jobs and tax revenue created by natural gas production in their states would have been threatened. West Virginia is a leading natural gas-producing state.
Cain went along with that argument, writing that the Department of Energy failed to consider the multistate coalition’s concerns about the LNG export ban’s “impact on national security, state revenues, employment opportunities, funding for schools and charities, and pollution allegedly caused by increased reliance on foreign energy sources.”
Meanwhile, according to a new national poll conducted after last week’s presidential debate, former President Trump has taken the lead over President Biden in a potential 2024 election rematch. This follows Biden’s rough performance during Thursday’s face-to-face showdown between the two major party contenders.
In a USA Today/Suffolk University survey conducted Friday through Sunday and released on Tuesday, Trump has 41% support among registered voters nationwide, while Biden has 38%. The Democratic incumbent in the White House and his Republican predecessor were tied at 37% in the previous USA Today/Suffolk University poll, which was conducted in May.
Biden, who, at age 81, is the oldest president in the nation’s history, is facing a challenging phase in his campaign for a second term in the White House. His hesitant delivery and unsteady responses during the debate have caused concern within the Democratic Party. This has led to calls from political pundits, editorial writers, and some party politicians and donors for Biden to consider stepping aside as the party’s 2024 candidate, Fox News reports.
