A federal judge in Louisiana on Tuesday granted a preliminary injunction blocking President Joe Biden’s ban on new federal oil and gas leases.
Republican Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry and officials in 12 other states filed a lawsuit in March in an effort to resume ongoing lease sales in the Gulf of Mexico and Alaska, according to NPR.
“While our fight is far from over, I am pleased the Court granted preliminary relief against the President’s unconscionable attack on American energy,” Landry tweeted on Wednesday.
While our fight is far from over, I am pleased the Court granted preliminary relief against the President’s unconscionable attack on American energy. ⤵️#lalege #lagov #oilandgas https://t.co/ax21FNaaII
— AG Jeff Landry (@AGJeffLandry) June 16, 2021
Injunctions remain a contentious topic, as they were used 19 times to stop actions by the Obama administration and 55 times against the Trump administration.
The debate centers around the fact that a single judge has the power to impact federal government policy as a whole.
U.S. District Judge Terry Doughty was appointed by former President Donald Trump in 2018, an example of the former president’s lasting influence in the American judicial system.
Trump frequently touted his appointment of hundreds of federal judges, as well as Supreme Court Justices Amy Coney Barrett, Brett Kavanaugh and Neil Gorsuch.
Tonight’s decision blocking Biden’s heartless ban on oil and gas leases on federal lands is important.
In Wyoming, we rely on oil and gas to support our economy & provide resources for our communities.
Our fossil fuels are national treasures that power our nation. https://t.co/Emucikw6TB
— Rep. Liz Cheney (@RepLizCheney) June 16, 2021
Pausing federal oil and gas leases was a key part of Biden’s plan to transition to renewable energy without waiting for the industry to make changes on its own.
Three months ago I led a bipartisan letter warning the Biden admin their moratorium on new leases and permits on federal lands violated the law and the constitution.
Now a federal judge has agreed. pic.twitter.com/eAds8MK8NL
— Rep. Yvette Herrell (@RepHerrell) June 15, 2021
“You don’t want to be sitting there with a lot of stranded assets. You’re gonna wind up on the wrong side of this battle,” Biden’s climate envoy John Kerry warned the fossil fuel industry at a conference in March, CNN reported.
“They ought to be figuring out how do we become not an oil and gas company, but how do we become an energy company,” he added.
Biden and his allies have expressed no interest in working with the oil and gas industry, only against it.
Halting oil and gas leases without a clear plan to replace the jobs it sacrifices is a surefire way to cripple local and state economies.
Doughty’s decision to grant the injunction was completely justified, as Biden’s reckless executive action threatened American energy independence in service of a radical climate agenda.
There is a way to work toward a solid and realistic environmental policy: cooperating with the free market. But it might take a legal muzzle on the White House for that to happen.
