Trump Restores Alaskan Oil Development Blocked by Biden

In a powerful and emotional show of support, Alaskan tribal leaders welcomed the return of common sense to Washington last week as top officials from the Trump administration traveled to the state’s northern frontier. Their mission was clear: reverse the devastating Biden-era bans on oil development that crippled the economy and undermined the self-determination of Alaska’s native communities.

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, and Energy Secretary Chris Wright stood shoulder to shoulder with the Inupiat people of the North Slope in Utqiagvik, Alaska, to announce the rollback of Joe Biden’s sweeping anti-development policies.

The visit wasn’t just symbolic it was a direct correction of the Biden administration’s betrayal.

• In 2023, Biden blocked oil exploration and drilling across 10.6 million acres in the National Petroleum Reserve of Alaska (NPRA).

• An additional 3 million acres faced burdensome restrictions, effectively locking up over half of the 23-million-acre reserve.

• This land was set aside decades ago by Congress for responsible oil development, not as a trophy for radical environmental groups.

North Slope Borough Mayor Josiah Patkotak applauded the Trump officials for their transparency something the Biden administration sorely lacked. “The previous Secretary of the Interior made their rule after leaving the meeting,” Patkotak said, blasting Biden’s team for operating in bad faith. “Here we are, full transparency from our own secretary.”

Rex Rock, Sr., president and CEO of Arctic Slope Regional Corporation, didn’t mince words either. He made it clear that the Inupiat people were ignored under Biden. “Their 2024 rule… was not supported by a single entity in our region and they still chose to implement it,” Rock said.

These aren’t just political disputes. This is about livelihood, self-determination, and the ability to support families. The 2022 NPRA activity plan, forced through by the Biden White House, cut off 50% of the NPRA from development robbing the region of economic opportunity and threatening essential community services.

Charles Lampe, president of the Kaktovik Inupiat Corporation, went even further, describing Biden’s policies as a direct assault on their people. “Under the Biden administration, we were under attack by environmental groups… If the other guy had won, our homeland would have been stolen.”

That “other guy,” of course, is Joe Biden a president who sold out working families to curry favor with extremist green activists. And it’s not just Alaska. Biden has presided over the highest gas prices in U.S. history, including a record national average of $5.02 per gallon in June 2022, while killing pipeline projects and slapping new regulations on American energy.

Meanwhile, President Trump has always stood for American energy independence and local sovereignty. On Day One of his administration, he told federal agencies to protect Alaska’s resource rights not smother them.

The message from Alaska is loud and clear: they remember who stood with them, and who sold them out.

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