The state of Louisiana is preparing to sue the Biden administration in an effort to reverse President Biden's 11th hour ban on new offshore drilling and further oil and natural gas development on more than 625 million acres of U.S. coastal and offshore waters.
Soon after the White House announced the president's executive action on Monday, Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill reacted on X, calling the move "an attack on America's energy independence" and vowing that a lawsuit would be "incoming," saying, "stay tuned."
President-elect Trump vowed to undo Biden's move when he returns to the Oval Office in two weeks, but Biden implemented the ban by invoking the 1953 Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act – meaning Trump could be limited in his ability to revoke the action.
Murrill acknowledged in an interview on FOX Business' "Mornings with Maria" on Tuesday that reversing Biden's ban "is not that easy."
President Biden speaks during an event with world leaders on Sept. 25, 2024 in New York City. (Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images / Getty Images)
The Louisiana attorney general said, "We've been through this before with the Obama administration, and we've been through it with acreage up in Alaska, and we know that there will be environmental groups that are going to try and intervene in these lawsuits and block the reversal of this policy, so we just have to prepare for the fight."
Murrill said the lawsuit against the Biden administration is already being drafted and it will be filed as soon as possible. But with less than two weeks left in Biden's term, the incoming Trump administration will become the defendant after the Biden administration exits.
"I'm confident that President Trump is going to work to reverse this," Murrill said, "but we can't wait for that to happen. We have to sue and try to block this action now."