The Trump administration unveiled a new plan last week to ramp up offshore drilling off the coasts of Alaska, California, and Florida as the president seeks to usher in a U.S. energy boom. But some members of President Donald Trump’s party, including the Florida governor, aren’t thrilled about the administration’s goal to drill for oil near the Sunshine State’s beaches and military bases.
The U.S. Department of the Interior directed the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management last Thursday to open up seven additional lease areas in the Eastern Gulf for offshore drilling, an area in the Gulf of America around 100 miles off of Florida’s coast. The Trump administration also plans to open up 21 areas for lease off the coast of Alaska and six areas off the Pacific coast.
Florida Republicans, including Governor Ron DeSantis, Sen. Rick Scott, and Sen. Ashley Moody, are urging the administration to pump the brakes on the new plan. The Florida leaders want the federal government to reconsider the policy President Trump enacted during his first term, which banned offshore oil leasing off the coasts of Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina through 2032.
“President Trump’s 2020 memorandum protecting Florida’s eastern Gulf waters represents a thoughtful approach to the issue. The Interior Department should not depart from the 2020 policy,” DeSantis said. The governor’s office added that the Gulf coast of Florida does “not have the same oil and gas reserves as other states in the region” and that the state “has active sites where drilling occurs on land.”
Florida politicians argue that the new oil leases threaten Florida’s pristine beaches, which attract millions of tourists each year, while also interfering with “critical” U.S. military bases on the state’s coast.
Scott, Florida’s senior senator and former governor, echoed DeSantis, arguing, “Florida’s beautiful beaches and coastal waters are so important to our state’s economy, environment, and military community, which is why I have fought for years to keep drilling off Florida’s coasts and worked closely with President Trump during his first term to extend the moratorium banning oil drilling off Florida’s coasts through 2032.”
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“I have been speaking to Secretary Burgum and made my expectations clear that this moratorium must remain in place, and that in any plan, Florida’s coasts must remain off the table for oil drilling to protect Florida’s tourism, environment, and military training opportunities,” Scott added.
Senator Moody said the Trump administration’s move was “HIGHLY concerning,” adding that she “will be engaging directly with the [Interior Department] on this issue.”
The Interior Department’s move to free up more areas for offshore drilling is a response to former President Joe Biden’s “restrictive” oil and gas policies, according to the Trump administration.
“Offshore oil and gas production does not happen overnight. It takes years of planning, investment, and hard work before barrels reach the market,” said Interior Secretary Doug Burgum. “The Biden administration slammed the brakes on offshore oil and gas leasing and crippled the long-term pipeline of America’s offshore production. By moving forward with the development of a robust, forward-thinking leasing plan, we are ensuring that America’s offshore industry stays strong, our workers stay employed, and our nation remains energy dominant for decades to come.”
Trump’s 2020 memorandum prevented areas off the Florida coast from being considered for “leasing for purposes of exploration, development, or production” until 2032. After signing the memorandum in 2020, Trump was criticized by some people who believed the president was seeking to gain political favor among Floridians ahead of the 2020 election.
During his 2024 presidential campaign and after returning to the White House in early 2025, Trump vowed to ramp up American energy production and bring down energy costs for Americans. To accomplish this, Trump said it was time for the United States to “drill, baby, drill,” and on his first day back in the White House in January, Trump declared a national energy emergency.
“A major focus of our fight to reduce inflation is rapidly reducing the cost of energy. The previous administration cut the number of new oil and gas leases by 95%, slowed pipeline construction to a halt, and closed more than 100 power plants,” Trump said during his address to Congress in early March.
A group of Florida GOP representatives, including some of Trump’s most loyal supporters in Congress, also signed a letter urging the president to reconsider the Interior Department’s latest directive.
“While we wholeheartedly support your push for American energy independence and expanded oil and gas production, the [Eastern Gulf Test and Training Range] is critical to advanced weapons development, flight testing, and joint exercises essential to maintaining America’s military superiority,” the letter states.
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