Former President Donald Trump has strongly criticized President Biden's decision to ban oil and gas drilling across a vast expanse of US coastal waters, vowing to overturn the policy immediately upon returning to office. Trump expressed his disapproval during an interview, questioning Biden's rationale and emphasizing the economic significance of these resources.

Biden's plan, announced just before Trump's inauguration, designates 625 million acres of federal waters along the East and West coasts, the eastern Gulf of Mexico, and parts of Alaska's Northern Bering Sea as protected from future oil and gas leasing. Trump contends that this move undermines America's energy independence and squanders a valuable economic asset.

Trump argued that the United States possesses unparalleled oil and gas reserves, and he intends to leverage these resources to bolster the nation's economy. He criticized Biden for seemingly disregarding the economic implications of the drilling ban, suggesting a lack of understanding of the scale of the acreage involved.

Beyond the drilling ban, Trump also took issue with other last-minute policy decisions made by the Biden administration, including the selection of Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients. He accused the outgoing administration of deliberately obstructing the transition process by creating unnecessary hurdles and allocating substantial funds to what he considers wasteful Green New Deal initiatives.