Trump White House officials huddle regularly to discuss ways to “fight back” against lawsuits aimed at halting energy projects.
That’s according to Jarrod Agen, executive director of the White House Energy Dominance Council, who spoke on a panel Thursday about the administration’s energy agenda.
One of the White House’s “huge pushes” on Capitol Hill is going to be for permitting reform, Agen said at the event hosted by the think tank Foundation for Defense of Democracies. The administration’s priorities include, Agen said, “looking at lawsuits“ and how to ensure that “once projects are permitted and moving forward — that the lawsuits can’t kill them.”
Permitting reform is a top priority for industries, Democrats and Republicans, although it remains a politically thorny issue on Capitol Hill. Democrats have paused formal permitting talks in the Senate amid the Trump administration’s attacks on renewable energy projects, although informal discussions continue.
