WHAT’S HAPPENING TODAY: Good afternoon and Happy Wednesday, readers! President Donald Trump held a cabinet meeting at the White House today, and members made a few comments on energy and environment of interest that we’ll discuss. 

Maydeen and Callie are also keeping an eye on votes in the House of Representatives later today, where Republicans are poised to undo two California vehicle emissions rules. 

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Plus, keep reading to find out what forecasters are saying about what kind of summer we’ll have. 

Welcome to Daily on Energy, written by Washington Examiner energy and environment writers Callie Patteson (@CalliePatteson) and Maydeen Merino (@MaydeenMerino). Email cpatteson@washingtonexaminer dot com or mmerino@washingtonexaminer dot com for tips, suggestions, calendar items, and anything else. If a friend sent this to you and you’d like to sign up, click here. If signing up doesn’t work, shoot us an email, and we’ll add you to our list.

TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT TO DO AWAY WITH BIDEN FUEL STANDARDS…AND OTHER CABINET MEETING TAKEAWAYS: Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy revealed during today’s cabinet meeting with President Donald Trump that he plans to rewrite existing fuel economy standards for SUV and trucks in order to bring down vehicle costs. 

The details: Toward the top of the meeting, Duffy pointed to the fuel standards finalized by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration under the Biden administration, which required all light-duty vehicles to average 50.4 miles per gallon by 2031. SUVs and pickups were averaging around 35 miles per gallon at the time the rules were finalized. These standards were just one aspect of the previous administration’s push for an accelerated deployment of electric vehicles and its goal of lowering vehicle-related emissions.

“We are going to rewrite those standards, bring it down to something that is far more reasonable,” Duffy said, adding that the new rules will help lower domestic vehicle prices. 

A plug for LNG: During the cabinet meeting, Energy Secretary Chris Wright advocated for increased exports of liquefied natural gas and criticized the Biden administration’s efforts to slow new export terminals. 

In January 2024, the Biden administration had put a pause on approvals for new LNG export projects, in order to conduct a study on the environmental and economic impacts of increased exports. Trump signed an executive order on his first day in office reversing that pause and since then the Energy Department has issued several permit extensions and approvals for more exports. 

Wright has predicted that LNG could become the largest U.S. export “in the next few years.” Exports of LNG are expected to jump in the coming months as several nations like Japan, South Korea, and even members of the European Union have expressed interest in increasing their imports from the U.S. LNG may even become a critical bargaining chip for other nations looking to get around Trump’s sweeping tariffs later this year. 

Using public lands: Interior Secretary Doug Burgum continued to stand by the administration’s plan to use public lands for energy development – a move that will likely shrink protected federal lands and waters. 

Earlier this month it was revealed that Interior was reviewing the boundaries of several national monuments to see whether their lands had any potential for mining or oil production. Burgum appeared to confirm that the administration plans to do this for most federal lands and waters, saying the department is working to “identify the balance sheet of America.” 

“We’re treating our natural resources like the American balance sheet they are,” he said. “And America’s resources – the 700 million acres of surface that’s public, 700 million of subsurface, the 2.5 billion offshore – all contain what we need to have self-sufficient supply chains.” 

U.S. PREPARED TO SIGN UKRAINE MINERALS DEAL IMMINENTLY: Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent confirmed toward the end of the cabinet meeting that the administration is fully prepared to sign the long-delayed minerals deal with Ukraine. 

“Our side is ready to sign this afternoon if they are,” Bessent told the press, confirming that both the U.S. and Ukraine made last-minute changes to the agreement last night. He did not detail what those changes were and said “it’s the same agreement that we agreed to on the weekend.” 

About the deal: The administration has been seeking to sign the deal since February, allowing the U.S. access to Ukraine’s mineral resources, including aluminum, graphite, oil, and natural gas. The exact details of the agreement have yet to be made public, but it is expected to include provisions creating a joint fund to manage Ukraine’s investment projects, one source familiar with the deal told Bloomberg. It will also likely set conditions to increase U.S. investments in mining, energy, and other related technologies in Ukraine. 

Senior officials also told Politico that the deal will include an agreement for the U.S. to contribute to Ukraine’s reconstruction fund. Any military assistance sent following the signing of the deal, like air defense systems, will also be considered a contribution. 

HOUSE VOTING TO UNDO TWO CALIFORNIA EMISSION RULES: House lawmakers this evening will vote on two Congressional Review Act resolutions to overturn California regulations on vehicle emissions. 

Lawmakers will vote on a California rule requiring heavy-duty vehicle manufacturers to increase the sales of zero-emission trucks. They will also vote to overturn a state regulation that aims to reduce nitrogen oxide emissions from heavy-duty vehicles. Both of these regulations were granted waivers by the Environmental Protection Agency to set more stringent emission standards. 

Republicans have used the CRA to attempt to undo the Biden administration’s energy regulations. The special legislative process allows lawmakers to bypass the filibuster and vote in a simple majority. 

However, the Government Accountability Office said last month that waivers relating to the Clean Air Act are not considered agency rules, therefore not subject to the CRA. 

“By using the Congressional Review Act, the Trump EPA is doing what no EPA under Democratic or Republican administrations in 50 years has ever done, and what the U.S. Government Accountability Office has confirmed does not comply with the law,” a spokesperson for the California Air Resources Board told the Washington Examiner in a statement. 

It is unclear whether legal challenges will arise from the House’s efforts to overturn the California waivers. 

Since entering office, Trump and Republicans have set their sights on regulations, particularly those in California that look to bolster the electric vehicles industry and reduce gas powered vehicles. Republicans have argued that California’s emission rules set a de facto national standard and force consumers to transition towards electric vehicles. 

LOAN PROGRAM OFFICE CRITICAL FOR NATIONAL SECURITY: Calls to protect and support the Department of Energy’s Loan Programs Office have grown louder this week as a new report claims the office is key for both the administration’s agenda and national security. 

The details: The report, released by the American Council for Capital Formation Center for Policy Research, estimated that projects supported by LPO have generated more than $5 billion worth of returns for American taxpayers, created more than 47,300 permanent jobs, and helped produce over 127 million megawatt-hours of energy. 

Given this track record, the report emphasized that the office will be critical for achieving energy and manufacturing goals like accelerating new energy deployment, lowering energy costs, increasing private sector investment, and boosting critical mineral supply chains. 

LPO has been thrust into the spotlight in recent weeks as nearly 60% of its staff took the administration’s Deferred Resignation Program (DRP), resigning from their positions at the end of last week. Barring any additional reductions in force, this leaves the office with staffing levels similar to that during the first Trump administration. As the office’s portfolio has grown significantly, department sources have said the smaller workforce will make it extremely difficult for LPO to take on new projects. 

Given this, the report emphasized the need for an “efficient approach” to prioritize the many conditional loan commitments the administration took over. This approach should focus on project outcome, impact, the office’s confidence of repayment, and avoid any political favoritism, the researchers wrote. 

Key quote: “If managed properly, LPO can be a catalyst not just for new energy infrastructure but for securing critical supply chains and restoring U.S. industrial strength,” ACCF chief economist and executive vice president Pinar Çebi Wilber said in a statement. “But delaying or minimizing its use would undermine America’s ability to compete with China and other global challengers.”

ENERGY GROUP CONSIDERS SUING TRUMP OVER HALTING NEW YORK WIND PROJECT: Norwegian energy company Equinor may pursue legal action against the Trump administration over its pausing construction of the Empire Wind Project being built off the coast of Long Island. 

Quick reminder: Two weeks ago, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum announced the agency would be pausing the ongoing construction of the project, which started quietly at the beginning of April. Burgum claimed the Biden administration rushed the project through the approval process, saying it needed to be reviewed. 

The details: CEO Anders Opedal told the Financial Times this week that Equinor believes this action to be “unlawful” as well as “unprecedented.” While the company is looking to sit down with Trump administration officials to come to a solution, Opedal told the outlet “we’re also considering legal options.” 

The decision to halt the project is the strongest action taken by the administration against the wind industry since Trump signed an executive order on his first day in office pausing federal support for offshore and onshore wind projects. 

At the time of the order, it was thought that projects already approved and under construction would not face any pressure from the administration. After the administration’s latest move, and major wind developer RWE pulling all U.S. activities, investors’ fears have grown the policy environment for the industry.

WHERE OIL STANDS: Plunging oil prices were headed for their largest monthly drop since 2021 this afternoon, with domestic benchmark prices dropping below the $60 per barrel line once again. 

Just after 2 p.m. EST, West Texas Intermediate had fallen by 3.48% and was trading at just $58.31 per barrel. International benchmark Brent Crude had also dropped by 1.71% and was priced at $63.15 per barrel. 

The falling prices primarily stemmed from Saudi Arabian officials indicating that the kingdom would not prop up the market by cutting supply, saying it can handle low prices for a long period of time, according to Reuters. This is further evidence of growing tensions between OPEC+ members, as some countries want to again increase their planned output hike in June – a move that could send prices down further making it more difficult to see substantial demand growth. 

FORECASTERS PREDICT A HOT SUMMER, RAISING ENERGY BILLS: Forecasters are predicting that the country will experience historically high temperatures this summer. 

AccuWeather meteorologists are predicting an extremely hot summer, with high temperatures starting June through August, bringing severe weather, hurricanes, and intense wildfires. 

“Make sure your air conditioners are ready for another hot summer across much of the country, especially the western and central U.S. We expect a summer with more extremes, including extreme heat waves, expanding drought and the potential for big wildfires and major hurricanes later in the summer,” said AccuWeather Lead Long-Range Expert, Paul Pastelok. 

Pastelok said the only parts of the nation that could experience normal temperatures will be the interior Northeast, interior mid-Atlantic, and Tennessee Valley.

Many states have already experienced hot weather this year, with Arizona reaching 100 degrees in April, which is the earliest temperatures have reached in the past seven years. The most intense heat is expected in the northern Rockies, the Northwest, and across the Plains. 

ICYMI – COP CHAIR WARNS CLIMATE TALKS WILL BE ‘UPHILL BATTLE’ WITHOUT US: International climate discussions will be difficult later this year at the United Nation’s Climate Change Conference in Brazil, COP30 President André Corrêa do Lago said yesterday. 

The details: During the BloombergNEF Summit in New York, Corrêa do Lago conceded that the Trump administration’s departure from other critical global climate talks so far this year as well as the growing trade war sparked by the president will present challenges at the conference in November. 

“There is obviously some that say ‘God, how am I going to convince my people to lower emissions when the richest country isn’t doing the same,’” Corrêa do Lago said, according to Bloomberg. “It’s going to be a slightly uphill battle, but it’s the right one.”

It remains unclear what kind of presence the U.S. will have at COP30, as Trump again pulled out of the Paris Agreement and has withdrawn the U.S. from nearly all international climate-related discussions since he took office. Corrêa do Lago said yesterday that invitations for the conference have yet to be sent to Washington. 

RUNDOWN 

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