Trump signs memos to boost US fossil-fuel production for ‘defense readiness’

Trump’s memos, which cited the president’s 20 January 2025 executive order declaring a national energy emergency, said US-based oil, coal, and natural gas production must expand “to avert an industrial resource or critical technology item shortfall that would severely impair national defense capability”.

“It emphasized that our Nation’s current inadequate and intermittent energy supply leaves us vulnerable to hostile foreign actors and poses an imminent and growing threat to the United States’ prosperity and national security,” one of Trump’s memoranda said of his executive order.

“Consistent with that declaration, I find that ensuring resilient domestic petroleum production, refining, and logistics capacity is central to United States defense readiness,” he also said.

“Petroleum fuels the Nation’s Armed Forces, industrial base, and crucial infrastructure. Without immediate Federal action, United States defense capabilities will remain vulnerable to disruption.”

Trump directed the energy secretary to implement his determination about fossil fuels and defense, such as by “making necessary purchases, commitments, and financial instruments to enable these projects”.

Trump’s memos invoked the Defense Production Act, a cold-war era legislation that gives the president power to protect US defense efforts by “expanding and expediting the supply of materials and services from the domestic industrial base,” according to Fema.

Trump has worked to bolster the US oil and gas industry, which donated more than $75m to his campaign, since assuming his second term in office. He signed an order with the stated goal of “unleashing American energy”, overturned vehicle-emissions standards, and curtailed restrictions on petroleum expansion in Alaska.

Trump also removed Joe Biden’s January 2024 pause on approving applications for the exportation of liquefied natural gas to some countries. In December 2024, the White House released an analysis showing that expansion of exports would increase domestic liquefied natural gas costs.

Trump’s memorandums come as tens of millions of Americans grapple with gas prices that have increased since the US and Israel went to war with Iran, roiling world oil markets and disrupting multiple industries dependent on petroleum production, such as fertilizer. While recent hope for a diplomatic resolution had helped lower oil prices, costs rose after the US seized an Iranian ship.

Ever-rising gas prices could prove problematic for Trump, who campaigned on numerous populist talking points about affordability. They also come as other costs of living increase across the US.

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) predicts that overall food prices will rise 3.6% in 2026; food-at-home costs are expected to increase 3.1%, while food-away-from-home is poised to see a 3.9% increase.

Both figures are faster than the 20-year historical average rate for price increases, the USDA said.