Energy & Environment

Trump invokes Defense Production Act to boost oil, coal and energy infrastructure

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by Rachel Frazin - 04/21/26 10:36 AM ET

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by Rachel Frazin - 04/21/26 10:36 AM ET

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President Trump on Monday invoked wartime authority under the Defense Production Act (DPA) to try to push for more oil, gas and coal.

The DPA gives the president the authority to increase the production of certain items to advance national security.

Trump this week issued five memos applying it to oil, coal, natural gas infrastructure and exports, electric grid equipment and “large-scale energy and energy-related infrastructure.”

The move comes as the war in Iran has created an oil supply crunch. About a fifth of the world’s oil typically flows through the Strait of Hormuz, off Iran’s coast. Tehran has taken advantage of this chokepoint and has effectively halted the flow of this oil.

Oil is a globally traded commodity, so this has sent prices skyrocketing around the world.

In his oil memo, which applies not only to oil production but also to refining and pipelines, Trump cited oil’s importance for “the Nation’s Armed Forces, industrial base, and crucial infrastructure.”

“Without immediate Federal action, United States defense capabilities will remain vulnerable to disruption,” Trump wrote.

His coal order specifically cited AI, saying “without sufficient coal-fired baseload power, the United States will lack the stable electricity required to support defense installations, industrial expansion, and the high-energy demands of emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence.”

While somewhat vague, his order pertaining to large-scale energy and related infrastructure said that “financing risks, regulatory delays, and market barriers” were getting in the way.

Left-wing advocacy organization Public Citizen criticized the moves as an abuse of the DPA.

“President Trump is abusing emergency authorities and wasting taxpayer resources through unprecedented abuse of the Defense Production Act to promote his politically-favored fossil fuel projects at the expense of energy affordability and common sense,” said Tyson Slocum, director of Public Citizen’s Energy Program in a written statement.

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