PULSE POINTS

❓WHAT HAPPENED: The Trump administration finalized a rule revoking Biden-era restrictions on oil and gas drilling in Alaska.

👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: The Department of the Interior (DOI), President Donald J. Trump, and North Slope community leaders in Alaska

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📍WHEN & WHERE: Announced on November 13, 2025, impacting the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska.

💬KEY QUOTE: “By rescinding the 2024 rule, we are following the direction set by President Trump to unlock Alaska’s energy potential, create jobs for North Slope communities and strengthen American energy security.” – Doug Burgum

🎯IMPACT: The move restores energy development opportunities, creates local jobs, and reduces U.S. reliance on foreign energy sources.

The Trump administration announced on Thursday, November 13 that it is moving to rescind a former Biden government rule restricting oil and gas drilling in Alaska. According to the Department of the Interior (DOI), the finalized rule—set to be published in the Federal Register on November 17—will reverse limits on drilling in the National Petroleum Reserve on Alaska’s North Slope.

The National Petroleum Reserve, which spans approximately 23 million acres, has been designated for energy development since 1923. However, Biden-era policies restricted drilling on over 13 million acres of this area, citing perceived environmental concerns.

Conversely, the DOI now aims to restore drilling to enhance U.S. energy security and reduce dependence on foreign sources. This, the department argues, will bring federal energy policy further into alignment with President Donald J. Trump’s Executive Order to expand natural resource development on federal and state lands in Alaska.

“By rescinding the 2024 rule, we are following the direction set by President Trump to unlock Alaska’s energy potential, create jobs for North Slope communities, and strengthen American energy security,” said Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum. He added that the action promotes responsible development while benefiting both Alaska and the nation.

Local support for the decision came from the Voice of the Arctic Inupiat, a nonprofit representing North Slope communities, which highlighted the benefits of tax revenue for essential services. North Slope Borough Mayor Josiah Patkotak called the move a “meaningful step toward restoring a federal process” that respects local leadership. “Good policy comes from good process, which requires hearing directly from the people who live, work, and hunt here,” Patkotak stated.

Far-left green agenda groups, such as the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), have criticized the rollback. Bobby McEnaney, NRDC director of land conservation, said, “This rollback is nothing more than a giveaway to the oil and gas industry. Weakening protections is reckless, and it threatens to erase the very landscapes Congress sought to safeguard.”

Image by Richard Martin.

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