California Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a planned Trump adminis
tration proposal to sell new oil drilling rights off the U.S. West Coast “dead on arrival.”
The draft proposal prepared by administration officials, first reported by Bloomberg in October, sets the stage for government auctions of oil and gas leases in U.S.
Pacific waters. The administration also is set to outline potential sales of drilling rights in waters near Alaska and in the G
ulf of Mexico, which was renamed the Gulf of America by President Donald Trump.
However, Trump administration officials have now ruled out new offs
hore oil leasing along the US East Coast, after an initial plan for auctioning territory there drew alarm from Republican officials.
The plan is “dead on arrival in California — dead on arrival,” Newsom
told reporters on the sidelines of the COP30 climate summit in Belém, Brazil.
It’s “interesting he didn’t put it in front of Mar-a-Lago,” Newsom added, referring to Trump’s Florida resort. “It’s disgraceful.”
White House spokespeople did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Oil companies have shown limited appetite to explore new U.S. waters far beyond the Gulf, where they cou
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ld confront political opposition as well as geological risk. Ho
wever the Pacific waters near southern California have produced crude for decades — and Interior Department docum
ents seen by Bloomberg note there is “industry interest” in fresh drilling in the region.
The Interior Department’s draft is an initial step in assembling a new five-year blueprint for selling Outer Continenta
l Shelf oil leases from 2026 to 2031. If finalized, it would replace a prog
ram developed under former President Joe Biden that scheduled just three
auctions from 2024 to 2029. The process typically begins wit
h an expansive initial draft, with the proposal being whittled down ahead of being finalized.
The West Coast states of California, Oregon and Washington a
lready have registe
t, according to the agency documents. Under federal law, Interior Department officials are supposed to consult
with states and consider their views while developing the leasing plans.
Newsom, a Democratic governor who is considering a bid f
or the presidency in 2028, has used a visit Tuesday to the UN
summit in Brazil to emphasize that US states and local governments are committed to battling climate change — even as Trump retreats from th
e fight.