Is Biden about to deliver a major political gift to the Trump campaign?

President Joe Biden's latest energy policy decision may ultimately be a boon to former President Donald Trump and his bid to return to the White House.

The Biden administration is expected to formally announce on Friday that it is delaying its final determination on whether to approve Calcasieu Pass 2 (CP2), a large liquefied natural gas (LNG) export terminal in Louisiana. The delay is a clear sign that the administration is considering effectively killing the project, and it looks like the Trump campaign will use the new opportunity to bash Biden's energy agenda while contrasting it with Trump's record on the topic

Biden is under strong pressure from the environmental left to kill CP2 and other proposed LNG export terminals, especially after his administration decided to allow ConocoPhillips to proceed with the Willow Project in Alaska due to the vehement opposition of activist groups. The Willow decision was a rare victory for fossil fuel interests during Biden's first term, which has seen the federal government issue more restrictive offshore oil and gas. rental schedule in American history and take millions of hectares of federal land off the table for drilling.

Trump, for his part, promises a simple energy strategy if he returns to the Oval Office: “Drill, baby, drill,” as he does. said after winning the Iowa caucus.

“Joe Biden has once again caved to the radical demands of his administration's environmental extremists,” Trump campaign spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “On Day One, President Trump will unleash American energy to lower the cost of living for all Americans, pay down the debt, strengthen national security, and establish America as the world's manufacturing superpower,” he said. continue, and added that the CP2. The delay is a “disastrous self-inflicted wound that will further harm the economic and national security of the United States.”

The Trump campaign will “absolutely” use the election of the Biden administration to delay a determination on CP2 as campaign fodder going forward, said Mike McKenna, a GOP strategist and former administration energy adviser. Trump, at the DCNF.

From the perspective of the Biden camp, delaying CP2, and especially a possible cancellation, is likely to buy goodwill with the environmental left, especially after the administration pushed ahead with the Willow project last year past

“I understand that they have to feed the progressives, but this seems like and is both a terrible idea and an illegal intrusion into the process of an independent regulatory agency,” McKenna told the DCNF.

Tom Pyle, the president of the American Energy Alliance, agrees with McKenna.

The decision “will harden support among those who support President Trump,” Pyle told the DCNF, adding that it's less clear “whether it helps President Biden, other than bolstering his left-wing base.”

“I guess the calculation is that it will help the Greens find more of an excuse to spend even more on re-electing Biden,” Pyle continued. “Average people see it for what it is: a short-sighted political movement that helps no one but the hard-line special interests that support it.”

White House officials met with several activists, including a 25-year-old TikTok influencer and members of the confrontational organization known as Climate challengebefore its decision to delay a final determination on CP2.

A recent survey found that a majority of likely 2024 voters in eight swing states do not believe climate change is the most serious issue facing the nation today, while most respondents identified the 'economy as the most important or the second most important problem. . Vice President Kamala Harris recently beloved that the administration has spent about $1 trillion on its massive green energy and climate agenda.

The Biden campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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