American energy dominance was an important theme in President Donald Trump's address to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday. "As you heard me say many times, we have more liquid gold under our feet than any nation on earth, and by far, and now I fully authorize the most talented team ever assembled to go and get it. It's called drill, baby, drill," he said.
Energy policy in the first 45 days of the Trump administration has indeed followed this mantra. On his first day in office, the president signed an executive order to streamline oil and gas drilling and reverse former President Joe Biden's ban on offshore oil drilling in most of the United States. The executive order also "ended the [Biden] administration's insane electric vehicle mandate, saving our auto workers from economic destruction," the president said in his speech.
The president exaggerated many of his energy claims, including saying that the regulations implemented under Biden closed 100 power plants—an arbitrary number. While regulations do play a role in power plant closures, many shut down due to economic factors or aging infrastructure.
