In a fiery declaration, President-elect Donald Trump vowed to reverse what he called President Joe Biden’s “ridiculous” ban on new offshore oil and natural gas development, a sweeping move that affects 625 million acres of U.S. coastal waters. “I’ll unban it immediately,” Trump promised during an interview with Hugh Hewitt as he gears up to take office in two weeks.

Citing environmental concerns, Biden invoked the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, a 70-year-old statute that allows presidents to block areas from drilling. Biden’s decision will stop new oil and gas development in federal waters. This includes the East and West coasts, the eastern Gulf of Mexico, and parts of Alaska’s northern Bering Sea.

Environmentalists cheered the ban as a win for conservation, while critics—including Trump and industry leaders—lambasted it as a politically motivated stunt. “This is a disgraceful decision designed to exact political revenge on the American people who gave President Trump a mandate to increase drilling and lower gas prices,” said Trump spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt. “Joe Biden will fail, and we will drill, baby, drill.”

Despite Trump’s confidence, reversing the ban might prove legally thorny. A 2019 court ruling found that the Lands Act doesn’t grant presidents the power to overturn previous bans. But that’s unlikely to deter Trump, who’s promised to restore “American energy dominance” by dismantling Biden’s climate policies.

The ban also underscores broader energy tensions. Biden’s administration sold nearly half of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve in 2022, reducing it to fewer than 400 million barrels—a 40% drop since the start of the year. Critics, including American Petroleum Institute president Mike Sommers, argue Biden’s policies weaken energy security and embolden foreign adversaries.

Biden defended the ban, warning that “drilling off these coasts could cause irreversible damage” and framing it as a critical step to prevent environmental catastrophe.

Trump is doubling down on his promise to restore American energy independence.