Trump administration unlocks Alaska energy with resolutions removing Biden-era roadblocks

Since taking office, the Trump administration has been chipping away at the Biden-Harris administration’s energy policies. This month, President Donald Trump signed three resolutions that nullify former President Joe Biden’s block on energy development in northern Alaska. 

On Monday, federal regulators approved the permits for an 800-mile pipeline that will transport natural gas from the North Slope to the Kenai Peninsula in the south-central part of Alaska, The Center Square reported. 

Bernadette Wilson, who is running in the all-Republican race for Alaska governor, told Just the News that these measures will have economic benefits for Alaska, but the impacts will be felt nationwide. 

“Under the Biden administration, Alaska had more sanctions issued against our state than there were against the country of Iran. And so here we have this opportunity, and now we've got the president ready to go,” Wilson said. 

Sullivan: Biden policies "blatant government overreach" 

On Dec. 5, Trump signed a Senate joint resolution, sponsored by Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, that overturned a Biden-era block on oil and gas drilling in nearly half of the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, which covers approximately 13 million acres. 

Sullivan called Biden’s policy “one of the most blatant examples of federal government overreach” that would have negatively impacted Alaska Natives of the North Slope. 

“This plan effectively locked up about half of the National Petroleum Reserve — an area Congress explicitly set aside for energy production, ignored Alaska Native voices, violated clear congressional intent, and undermined our state’s ability to responsibly develop the resources that support our communities and strengthen our nation,” Sullivan said in a statement. 

On Thursday, Trump also signed two joint resolutions repealing restrictions on oil and gas development in other parts of northern Alaska. 

All three resolutions were signed under the Congressional Review Act, which allows Congress to block certain finalized federal regulations.

Permitting reform

The natural gas pipeline is one phase of the $40 billion Alaska LNG, which will include a liquified natural gas export facility and a natural gas treatment plant. According to The Center Square, the project began federal review in 2017 under FAST-41, a federal process created to speed up permitting for large infrastructure projects, and it received initial approval in 2020.

In 2021, the environmentalist Sierra Club requested an updated Environmental Impact Statement, which delayed the process. The parent company of the project restarted the FAST-41 process in February 2025, and it received its permits ahead of schedule. The pipeline project will still need to get some state-level approvals before construction can proceed. 

Protecting national security by bolstering infrastructure

Rep. Michael Rulli, R-Ohio, told Just the News that natural development is vital to national security. Annual and seasonal assessments from the North American Electric Reliability Corporation regularly find deteriorating stability on parts of the nation’s grid.

Rulli said that permitting reform will ensure the U.S. has the infrastructure for securing natural gas supplies, which will create a reliable grid. 

“Natural gas development has to be accelerated immediately, because if the grid is not secure, national security isn't secure. And not only that, the standard of living of every American is at jeopardy right now,” Rulli said.

He pointed to the decades-long permitting struggles that blocked the Constitution Pipeline. An S&P Global study published in November estimated that the pipeline could save consumers $11.6 billion. Many in the energy industry remember that President Biden canceled the Keystone XL pipeline on his very first day in office.

“I think if we could really address permit reform, I think not only could it help that [Alaska] pipeline in particular, but I think it could help other projects that we have going throughout the country,” Rulli said in an interview prior to the Alaska pipeline’s permit approval. 

Environmentalists pushing back

Despite Trump’s effort to open up Alaska to energy development, environmental groups continue efforts to maintain Biden’s restrictive regulatory environment. Last month, the Bureau of Land Management approved ConocoPhillip’s one-year exploration program, which will drill four exploration wells in the area. 

Earthjustice teamed up with the Sovereign Iñupiat for a Living Arctic and The Wilderness Society to file a lawsuit in federal court in hopes of stopping the project from going forward. 

The lawsuit claims that these four wells will “likely” cause “population-level impacts” on the caribou herds that are important to subsistence hunters and the communities that rely upon them for food and wellbeing. 

The Sovereign Iñupiat for a Living Arctic is an organization of North Slope Alaska Natives who advocate for various left-wing causes, including anti-oil and gas policies. 

However, other North Slope Alaska Natives see the Trump administration's policies differently. The Voice of Arctic Iñupiat, a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving and advancing North Slope Iñupiat cultural and economic self-determination, praised Trump’s support for the measures opening up the NPR-A. 

“This deeply flawed policy was drafted without proper legal consultation with our North Slope Iñupiat tribes and Alaska Native Corporations. Yet, today’s development shows that Washington is finally listening to our voices when it comes to policies affecting our homelands,” Nagruk Harcharek, president and CEO of the Voice of Arctic Iñupiat, said in a statement. 

Harcharek said the resolutions are “overwhelmingly supported” by communities of the North Slope, including Kaktovik, which is the only community located in the Arctic National Wildlife Preserve. 

Rollback is vulnerable 

Wilson, the candidate for Alaska governor, said that the Trump administration’s rollback of Biden’s energy policies remains vulnerable to future administrations, who may be as hostile to energy development in Alaska as the Biden administration was. So it’s important to move projects along as quickly as possible, she said. 

“I can promise you that my administration is going to come on in, and we are going to put all of those attributes on full display, not just for Alaska, but for the rest of the country. I understand the urgency of acting quickly,” Wilson said. 

In addition to the two resolutions dealing with Alaska, Trump signed three others rolling back Biden administration regulations impacting Montana, North Dakota and Wyoming. 

Kevin Killough is the energy reporter for Just The News. You can follow him on X for more coverage.