The Trump administration says it intends to keep every U.S. coal plant operating, arguing that rising electricity demand and industrial growth leave no room for shutdowns.
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said the administration is aiming to keep the entire coal fleet online and is shaping federal policy around that objective, Bloomberg reported. He said officials are treating full operational capacity as the benchmark for decisions affecting coal power.
Burgum made the remarks at the first meeting of the reconstituted National Coal Council, an advisory body that lapsed under former President Joe Biden and has returned under President Donald Trump. Trump moved early in his second term to reverse course on energy policy, ordering regulatory rollbacks and emergency actions designed to prevent coal-fired power plants from shutting down.
Administration officials said the push is necessary to meet rising power demand while securing the country’s industrial and manufacturing base. They tied coal generation to grid reliability at a moment when data centers, artificial intelligence infrastructure, and heavy manufacturing are straining electricity supplies.
Energy Secretary Chris Wright said federal emergency orders have already kept large portions of the coal fleet online.
“Seventeen gigawatts of coal generation are open today that would not have been open,” said Wright, as reported by Bloomberg. “You will not see those coal plants close during this administration.”
The White House energy strategy stands in contrast to analysts who expect natural gas and renewables to continue displacing coal over time. Yet the administration said affordability and reliability, not emissions targets, must drive policy as Republicans fight to hold the House and Senate in November.
Trump has already rolled back subsidies and rules that favored emissions-free power. His administration has ordered certain coal plants to continue operating and recently blocked Colorado’s attempt to force the closure of a coal facility in the central part of the state. The Interior Department has moved to open more federal land for coal leasing in North Dakota, Montana, and Wyoming.
The National Coal Council’s roughly 60 members include executives from major producers such as Peabody Energy, Warrior Met Coal, Hallador Energy, and Nacco Industries, along with utilities and cooperatives including FirstEnergy and Norfolk Southern. Joe Craft, a Trump donor, sits on the council. Jim Grech chairs the panel, with Jimmy Brock serving as vice chair.
Coal’s long decline remains evident. Once responsible for more than half of U.S. electricity generation, coal supplied about 17% in 2025 and is projected to slip further this year. Utilities have increasingly favored cheaper natural gas and renewables.
The Trump administration’s push for energy dominance builds on momentum established months earlier. A November 2025 report showed the U.S. set records for liquefied natural gas exports. Together with the current effort to keep coal plants running, the liquefied natural gas (LNG) milestone underscores a broader strategy focused on maximizing domestic energy production, grid reliability, and global market leverage.
Two LNG export terminals in Louisiana and Texas drove the recent surge in shipments, Reuters reported. The U.S. LNG sector has grown into a global powerhouse over the past two decades, with America now leading the world in exports after projections in 2010 showed it would become a net importer, according to S&P Global.
The Biden administration froze new LNG export permits and, as the Daily Caller News Foundation previously reported, released what critics said was a selective study aimed at downplaying the benefits of U.S. LNG.
Environmental groups praised Biden’s January 2024 halt on new export terminals, while opponents warned the move would deter investment, fail to deliver emissions cuts, and weaken the United States’ strategic position overseas.
Trump reversed the permit pause with a day-one executive order and pushed to expand LNG capacity.
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