The Biden administration on Tuesday suspended oil and gas leases in Alaska's 19.6 million-acre Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, and Interior Secretary Deb Haaland ordered a new environmental review of the leasing program enacted by the Trump administration.
On Jan. 6, the Bureau of Land Management held a lease sale for the refuge's coastal plain, and about a week later, signed leases for nine tracts totaling almost 685 square miles, The Associated Press reports. On President Biden's first day in office, he signed an executive order placing a temporary moratorium on oil and gas lease activities. Haaland on Tuesday said a review of the Trump administration's leasing program found several issues, including that it lacked "analysis of a reasonable range of alternatives," which is required under the National Environmental Policy Act.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
How will the next pope change the Catholic Church?Talking Points Conclaves can be unpredictable
-
Conspiracy theorists circle again following RFK file releaseThe Explainer Both RFK and his brother, President John F. Kennedy, have been the subjects of conspiracies
-
7 equestrian activities for when you feel like horsin' aroundThe Week Recommends These graceful animals make any experience better
-
DHS chief Kristi Noem's purse stolen from eaterySpeed Read Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem's purse was stolen while she dined with family at a restaurant in Washington, D.C.
-
Trump stands by Hegseth amid ouster reportsSpeed Read The president dismissed reports that he was on the verge of firing Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth over a second national security breach
-
Hegseth reportedly shared war plans in 2nd group textSpeed Read The defense secretary sent information about an attack in Yemen to a Signal group chat that included his wife and brother
-
Judge threatens Trump team with criminal contemptSpeed Read James Boasberg attempts to hold the White House accountable for disregarding court orders over El Salvador deportation flights
-
Biden slams Trump's Social Security cutsSpeed Read In his first major public address since leaving office, Biden criticized the Trump administration's 'damage' and 'destruction'
-
El Salvador refuses to return US deporteeSpeed Read President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador said he would not send back the unlawfully deported Kilmar Ábrego García
-
Trump says electronics tariff break won't lastSpeed Read The tariff exemptions on smartphones, laptops and other electronic devices are temporary, the administration says
-
Man charged in arson attack on Pennsylvania's ShapiroSpeed Read Governor Josh Shapiro and his family were sleeping when someone set fire to his Harrisburg mansion
