Under the leadership of President Donald Trump and Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has reported a series of policy shifts and initiatives aimed at increasing domestic energy production, reducing regulatory burdens, and strengthening national security.
According to the DOE, gas prices have reached a five-year low, averaging about $2.80 per gallon. The department attributes these lower prices to increased oil and natural gas production, stating that "America leads the world in oil and natural gas production, producing at all-time records." The United States now produces more oil than Saudi Arabia and Russia combined—24.2 million barrels per day—and matches the combined natural gas output of Russia, Iran, and China at 108 billion cubic feet per day.
President Trump directed the DOE to end a previous ban on liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports on his first day in office. Since then, the department claims it has approved more LNG export capacity than what is currently exported by the world's second-largest LNG exporter.
The administration also points to cost savings for Americans in other fuels such as propane, kerosene, firewood, and fuel oil. Additionally, with passage of the Working Families Tax Cut, efforts are underway to refill and repair the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), which had been drawn down under the prior administration.
In May 2025, DOE announced what it describes as its largest deregulatory effort to date: proposing elimination of 47 regulations that it estimates will save Americans $11 billion in costs. In March 2025, four conservation standards were withdrawn—covering electric motors, ceiling fans, dehumidifiers, and external power supplies—in an effort to reduce regulatory complexity and increase consumer choice. Since January 2025, 27 deregulatory actions related to appliance and equipment standards have reportedly saved consumers and businesses approximately $254 million annually in avoided future costs.
A DOE report released in 2025 indicated that before President Trump's election there was risk of a shortfall in reliable electricity generation leading to more frequent blackouts over five years. To address this concern, "the Energy Department has issued 19 emergency orders...to maximize grid reliability," especially during extreme weather or peak demand periods.
Efforts have also included halting policies that could have led to hydroelectric plant shutdowns in regions like the Columbia River Basin—a move which would have affected enough generation capacity for about 2.5 million homes—and reallocating $365 million toward repairing Puerto Rico’s power grid.
The DOE states it cancelled over $13 billion in unobligated funds previously appropriated for clean energy initiatives associated with what it calls "the previous administration’s wasteful Green New Scam agenda," returning those funds to the U.S. Treasury.
Regarding coal policy changes: "Thanks to President Trump, wages for coal workers are up and coal plants across the country are reversing plans to shut down." The department says more than 17 gigawatts of coal-powered electricity generation were preserved by year-end 2025. Five coal plants scheduled for closure remained operational due to these interventions.
Secretary Wright reinstated the National Coal Council (NCC), which held its inaugural meeting on January 15, 2026; Jim Grech was named Committee Chair and Jimmy Brock Vice Chair.
On nuclear energy development: The DOE reports multiple steps taken since late 2025—including awarding $800 million for small modular reactor deployment; announcing a $2.7 billion investment for uranium enrichment; closing a $1 billion loan for restarting a Pennsylvania nuclear plant; selecting companies for advanced nuclear fuel projects; providing conditional commitments for high-assay low-enriched uranium supply; launching pilot programs for new reactor technologies; and identifying federal sites for AI data center infrastructure linked with energy development.
To reduce reliance on foreign critical minerals supply chains—a matter tied directly to national security—the DOE announced funding opportunities totaling nearly half a billion dollars between November-December 2025 for domestic mineral extraction from industrial byproducts as well as rare earth element recovery projects. It also restructured its loan agreement with Lithium Americas Corporation so that "the U.S. Government [now holds] 5% equity ownership...in the form of Lithium America Corporation warrants."
Modernization efforts extend into defense: More than $3 billion was allocated via law earlier this year toward upgrading facilities within DOE’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA). Among recent achievements cited are completion ahead-of-schedule of manufacturing for B61-13 gravity bombs—described as one of “the most rapidly developed and fielded weapons since the Cold War”—and modernization work on W88 warheads used aboard Ohio-class submarines.
The NNSA also installed two new supercomputers at Los Alamos National Laboratory intended to advance both national security applications and scientific research capabilities.
On November 24, 2025 President Trump signed Executive Order 14363 directing DOE's flagship artificial intelligence initiative called Genesis Mission—an effort combining private sector AI expertise with government scientific resources—to accelerate technological innovation domestically. In October that year DOE published its Fusion Science & Technology Roadmap outlining strategy toward commercializing nuclear fusion power.
