Legislation was passed 226 to 188 by the Republican-controlled House to prevent future administrations from prohibiting oil and gas drilling without the consent of Congress, giving President Donald Trump another significant win.
The “Protecting American Energy Production Act” forbids the president from “declaring a moratorium on the use of hydraulic fracturing unless Congress authorizes the moratorium.”
Republican House members unanimously voted in favor of the legislation’s passage, while 118 Democrats voted against it.
Just weeks before he left office, former President Joe Biden banned future oil and gas drilling along 625 million acres of coastal and offshore waters, among other oil and gas-related regulations. The bill follows his actions.
The Republican who introduced the bill, Rep. August Pfluger of Texas, stated that the legislation was prompted by worries about possible fracking bans during the Biden administration.
“When President Biden took office, his administration took a ‘whole of government’ approach to wage war on American energy production, pandering to woke environmental extremists and crippling this thriving industry,” Pfluger said in a statement following the bill’s passage.
“My legislation that passed today is a necessary first step in reversing Biden’s war on energy by preventing the federal government from banning the use of hydraulic fracturing,” he said.
As part of his “drill, baby, drill” strategy, President Donald Trump has pledged to unleash energy produced in the United States since the campaign trail.
Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum launched internal investigations into agency actions that “burden” energy development, stripping the energy sector of “coercive” climate policies and oil lease bans implemented during the Biden administration.
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson said Monday that Democrats bear the blame for the pain of a government shutdown, as President Trump and his budget chief moved forward with identifying federal programs to cut.
“Day 27 means it’s almost been a full month since the Democrats shut down the government. And as we near the end of this month, the pain being felt by so many hard-working people around this country is very real and it gets worse with each passing day. Last week, 1.4 million federal workers missed a full paycheck. Now, you know, many of them are furloughed and many more are deemed essential workers,” Johnson said.
“Those who are essential, for example, to keep the country safe — TSA agents we’ve discussed and air traffic controllers and Border Patrol and our troops. But so many of them now are going without pay. The families of military service members and air traffic controllers and so many of these others are now at very real risk of missing the paycheck at the end of this month,” Johnson added.
“The Trump Administration has done everything possible to bend over backwards to try to find sources of funding within the federal government to be able to cover the bases, but it is getting more and more challenging with each day,” Johnson argued.
The Speaker added, “Now, every Republican in Congress wants to stop this Madness desperately. And we have voted many times, over a dozen times, collectively 13 times to reopen the government, to keep it open and reopen it once the Democrats closed it. It’s a simple math problem. We need Democrats to help. You need 60 votes in the Senate. We only have 53 Republicans.”
“The Democrats are the ones voting repeatedly to shut down the government,” Johnson declared.
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“These are just four sub points there under — under a fact number three. But there’s many more. But among the things they’re demanding — this is what the Democrats in the Senate are demanding to reopen the government. They want to give $200 billion in health benefits to illegal aliens and noncitizens paid for by U.S. taxpayers. That is in their proposal. They want billions in wasteful programs to be returned to foreign countries. So we stop these things,” he added.
The Speaker concluded, “They want to turn it all back on. They’re demanding that we do all that to get the government open for hardworking Americans again. They want to give a half a billion to left leaning news news organizations and — and they want to cut $50 billion from rural hospitals. We cannot, we will not do those things. And they know that very well.”
War Secretary Pete Hegseth delivered a fiery address to America’s top generals, declaring a new era for the U.S. military—one centered on strength, discipline, and victory, not political correctness.
He made it clear that the Pentagon’s days of indulging in woke policies, diversity mandates, and lowered standards are over.
“From this moment forward, the only mission of the newly restored Department of War is this: warfighting, preparing for war, and preparing to win, unrelenting and uncompromising in that pursuit,” Hegseth declared.
The speech, delivered to senior officers at Marine Corps Base Quantico, was a direct rebuke of decades of policies that emphasized diversity and inclusion over military readiness.
“It’s unacceptable to see fat generals and admirals in the halls of the Pentagon … It’s a bad look, and it’s not who we are!” Hegseth said, receiving loud applause from the assembled brass.
He outlined a set of sweeping reforms that would apply across every branch of the armed forces. Physical standards will be uniform, gender-neutral, and uncompromising.
“Standards must be uniform, gender neutral, and high — if not, they’re not standards,” he told the audience.
From now on, every service member will take a physical fitness test twice a year, and daily physical training will be mandatory.
Hegseth made clear that this training would not be “light stretching or hot yoga” but “real hard PT” designed to sharpen warriors for combat.
He blasted the weakening of the armed forces through the rise of DEI requirements, identity politics, and what he described as “gender delusion.”
“No more identity months, DEI offices, dudes in dresses, no more climate change worship, no more division, distraction or gender delusion, no more debris … we are done with that s-,” Hegseth thundered.
The War Secretary also emphasized discipline and grooming standards. “No more beards, long hair, superficial individual expression … We don’t have a military full of Nordic pagans,” he said.
In his speech, Hegseth explained that his mission is to restore the warrior ethos that made the U.S. military the most powerful fighting force in the world.
“Frankly, it’s tiring to look out at combat formations … and see fat troops. Likewise, it’s completely unacceptable to see fat generals and admirals in the halls of the Pentagon,” he said.
He stressed that America’s enemies are watching, and weakness in appearance and standards only emboldens them.
“We have a sacred duty to ensure that our warriors are led by the most capable and qualified combat leaders … In many ways, this speech is about fixing decades of decay, some of it obvious, some of it hidden,” Hegseth warned.
The War Secretary also confirmed that he has already removed senior officers who had been promoted under the old DEI system.
“We have already fired a number of senior officers … the previous chairman … other members of the Joint Chiefs … combatant commanders,” he stated.
Hegseth explained his philosophy of leadership, telling generals to trust their instincts and prioritize combat readiness.
“When in doubt, assess the situation, follow your gut … make a change,” he advised.
For Hegseth, these reforms are not optional. He said that those who cannot meet the new standards should step aside.
“If women — and weak men — don’t make the grade, so be it,” he declared.
And in perhaps the most striking line of his address, Hegseth warned: “If the words I’m speaking today are making your heart sink, then you should do the honorable thing and resign.”
His vision is clear: a fighting force stripped of woke distractions, lean, lethal, and focused on warfighting.
As Hegseth concluded, he left no room for doubt. “We are done with that sh-,” he said again, this time to thunderous applause from the generals who will now be tasked with carrying out his orders.
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