California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) blasted the Trump administration’s reported plans to open up new drilling off California’s coasts as “dead on arrival.”
“As it relates to offshore oil drilling, it’s overwhelmingly opposed by members of all political parties in the state of California,” Newsom said during a press conference at the COP30 climate conference in Brazil.
“It’s dead on arrival,” he said.
Multiple news outlets have reported that the Trump administration is planning to open up new opportunities for drilling off the coast of California, as well as in the eastern Gulf of Mexico.
The Washington Post obtained a draft map indicating that the administration plans to propose holding six auctions for the rights to drill off California’s coast between 2027 and 2030.
The New York Times also reported, citing three people who were briefed, that the Trump administration plans to allow drilling off California’s coast. The Times reported that the proposal could be announced as soon as this week.
Opening up drilling off California’s coast would mark the first time new chances to drill were offered up in the state since 1984, though drilling leases issued before that still produce some oil off the state’s coast.
It would also set up a further clash with Newsom, a political rival of President Trump who is expected to run for president in 2028.
The Trump administration has sparred with California on other issues, ranging from electric vehicles to congressional seat apportionment.
Meanwhile, drilling in the Eastern Gulf has faced bipartisan opposition in Florida amid concerns about the impacts a spill would have on the state’s tourism and economy. The state’s Republican senators are among those who have sought to codify a ban on drilling there.
During his first term, Trump issued a moratorium that would bar drilling off the coast of Florida until 2032.
Spokespeople for the Interior Department and Bureau of Ocean Energy Management did not respond to The Hill’s requests for comment.
The prospect of opening up drilling off California’s coast was previously reported last month by the Houston Chronicle, which also reported that the administration was considering opening up drilling on the East Coast.
Since that time, Politico reported that the plans to open up drilling in the Atlantic had been scrapped amid pushback.
Trump has repeatedly sought to bolster fossil fuels in his administration, including through the declaration of an emergency on energy and his repeated promises to “drill, baby, drill.”
The future of offshore drilling is governed by plans published every five years by the Interior Department.
The Biden administration put forward a plan that offered up just three offshore lease sales between 2024 and 2029 – all of which would be located in the western Gulf of Mexico. The Trump administration is expected to publish its own plan to replace the Biden plan.