President Donald Trump has invoked the Defense Production Act (DPA) to channel federal funds towards a variety of energy projects.
Trump signed five presidential determinations under the law on Monday, focusing on domestic coal power, liquefied natural gas (LNG), domestic petroleum, and power-grid infrastructure. He stated that deficiencies in these sectors pose a threat to national defense.
This action empowers the Energy Department to use funding secured in 2025 from Trump’s key tax-and-spending package. The department can now employ energy purchases, financial support, and other means to overcome delays, financing deficits, regulatory obstacles, and market barriers.
The President's signature authorizes federal funding for purchases across these categories, potentially benefiting coal plants, refineries, and manufacturers of gas turbines and transformers.
Trump underscored the importance of coal-powered generation for stable electricity to support defense installations, industrial expansion, and emerging technologies like artificial intelligence. He also highlighted the critical role of LNG capacity in ensuring energy security for allies and the importance of U.S. refining capacity to fuel the nation’s armed forces.
Trump Expands DPA, Faces Environmental Lawsuit
This comes as the administration faces mounting oil, gasoline, and electricity prices. At 4:59 am ET, Brent crude oil futures were trading 1.02% lower at $94.51 per barrel. Average gasoline prices in the U.S. stood at $4.022 per gallon as per AAA.
This isn’t the first time Trump has invoked emergency powers to boost domestic production. In March 2025, he used wartime powers to expand domestic production of critical minerals, aiming to reduce U.S. reliance on imports, especially from countries like China.
Furthermore, in February, Trump invoked the DPA to boost domestic production of elemental phosphorus and glyphosate herbicides, labeling phosphorus a critical, scarce material. The move aims to reduce U.S. reliance on foreign suppliers like China and Russia, especially given dependence on a single domestic producer, Bayer AG (OTC:BAYRY).
Meanwhile, environmental groups, Groups Healthy Gulf, Habitat Recovery Project, and Center for Biological Diversity sued the Trump administration on Monday over its approval of BP PLC's (NYSE:BP) $5 billion ultra-deepwater Kaskida drilling project in the Gulf of Mexico.
Filed on the anniversary of the Deepwater Horizon spill, the lawsuit seeks a review of the decision, arguing it risks environmental harm. The project would be BP's first new Gulf oil field since 2010, with a capacity of up to 80,000 barrels per day.
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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