President Trump has acted to boost fossil fuel development in the U.S. But market forces, and disruptive trade policies have more than offset the administration’s pro-oil and coal efforts.
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In his year and a half in office, President Donald Trump has acted to make good on his campaign promises to grow the U.S. oil, natural gas, and coal industries during his presidency. Trump has taken a series of actions aimed at reducing environmental oversight of fossil fuel producers and opening protected federal territory to new energy development. Yet the ability of the president, and of Washington, to open the door to new fossil energy production has its limits. Market forces—energy supply, demand and pricing—often play the leading role in an energy company's decision to drill new resources. At the same time, state-level energy regulations are often at odds with federal priorities.

Energy policy and market experts Anna Mikulska and Michael Maher discuss the president’s strategy to assert global energy dominance, and how the strategy has been reflected in recent investment trends in U.S. oil, gas, and coal.

Anna Mikulska is a senior fellow at the Kleinman Center for Energy Policy and a non-resident fellow with the Baker Institute for Energy Studies at Rice University's Baker Institute for Public Policy. Her work focuses on the interplay between energy markets and policy.

Michael Maher is senior program adviser at the Baker Institute's Center for Energy Studies. He focuses on U.S. energy policy related to oil and gas production and safety, offshore drilling, and LNG exports.

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