Trump administration planning oil and gas drilling off the coast of California.

Question

The Trump administration is planning to allow oil and gas drilling on and around the California coast. Drilling in California waters has not been done in decades. According to many reports the plan of the oil and gas drilling includes six leases during the years 2027 and 2030 in addition to that they plan on expanding drilling in the eastern part of the Gulf of Mexico. These changes shows a shift in the U.S. energy plans because drilling off the coast of California has been outlawed since a oil spill in Santa Barbra in 1969. The proposal of the drilling has begun to start conterversy due to high risks to costal communities and tourism. Gov. Gavin Newsom spoke about how he is strongly opposed to the plan and called it "dead on arrival" in Califonia while he was attending a climate change conferance in Brazil. Other climate and enviromental groups have also shown critizism towards the plan such as Surfrider Foundation, they argued that it casues destructive oil spills that would damage the coastline and local economies. Although unclear how much intrest the oil and gas intrusty would have in califonia when compared to the Gulf of Mexico, This situation shows the tenstion between federal energy goals and enviromental goals as well as larger debates over public saftety and economic develpoment.

Answer 1

Your claim that the Trump administration is “planning oil and gas drilling off the coast of California” is true. Your source The Guardian is typically reputable, but does have a left-leaning bias which should be considered as the topic is surrounding Trump’s Republican administration. However, your claim is supported by a few other sources such as the New York Times, the Washington Post, and the Institute for Energy Research (IER). The IER is a right-leaning media source which confirms the claims of the left-leaning source, suggesting legitimacy in the information. These sources confirm that Trump’s administration is pushing for a five year plan  for offshore oil and natural gas drilling off the California coast for the first time in four decades. However, The Guardian suggests that the California state governor Gavin Newsom is heavily opposed to this proposition and plans to shut it down. While the Trump administrations intentions are to authorize drilling, the idea is highly unpopular amongst the country and California officials which makes the authorization unlikely. 

https://adfontesmedia.com/the-guardian-bias-and-reliability/

https://www.instituteforenergyresearch.org/fossil-fuels/trump-includes-california-in-its-draft-offshore-lease-plan/

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/11/climate/offshore-drilling-california-trump-newsom.html

https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2025/11/10/offshore-drilling-california-gulf-alaska/

 

Answer 2

The statement outlined in this claim is true. This is because Federal Documents and other reports show that the Trump administration proposed new offshore oul and gas lease sales along the California coast. According to The Guardian, the draft 2027-2032 offshore leasing plan includes 6 potential lease sales in California waters, which connects with the claim. The article also confirms that Governor Gavin Newsome publicly rejected the proposal and called it "dead on arrival," connecting to the information given in the fact check. There is no evidence opposing the existence of this proposal, only an unsure feeling about whether drilling will actually happen because states can block the required setup. Based on this evidence, the fact check is true and accurate.

The Guardian

Answer 3

This claim, “Trump administration planning oil and gas drilling off the coast of California,” came from PBS and is true. PBS said that the Trump administration announced new oil drilling off the California and Florida coasts for the first time in decades, pushing a project that critics warn might hurt coastal towns and ecosystems, as President Donald Trump tries to expand U.S. oil output. PBS is a trustworthy source because it follows strict journalistic guidelines about fact-checking, sourcing, fairness, and accuracy. Their newsroom has professional editors and reporters who follow the Society of Professional Journalists' code of ethics. Another source that backs up this claim is Politico. It says that the Interior Department is proposing up to 34 auctions in federal waters between 2026 and 2031, making the planned five-year pace for offshore oil and gas leasing the most aggressive in decades. This is also a really good source because Politico employs experienced political journalists who follow established editorial standards. Their reporting is typically well-sourced, verified, and grounded in identifiable facts like public records, official statements, or data.

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/trump-administration-proposes-new-oil-drilling-off-the-coasts-of-california-and-florida

https://www.politico.com/news/2025/11/20/trump-administration-california-florida-oil-drilling-00648189

Answer 4

I found the claim that the Trump Administration has plans to start oil and gas drilling off the coast of Southern California to be true. According to AP News, there are also plans for new oil drilling off the coasts of Florida. This has been announced after not happening for decades. AP News claims, “Critics say could harm coastal communities and ecosystems, as President Donald Trump seeks to expand U.S. oil production.” Oil industries have been seeking access to offshore areas in order to boost US energy security and jobs. Due to oil spill concerns, the federal government does not allow drilling in federal waters since 1995. This includes the Florida coast and parts of Alabama. Trump is choosing to undo Joe Biden’s previous efforts to slow down climate change. Republican’s call this “energy dominance” in the global market. It is clear that Trump does not believe in climate change.  

https://apnews.com/article/offshore-drilling-california-trump-newsom-oil-1e5b0c52b128daddb3a1f112acd44fd6 

Answer 5

The claim that the Trump administration plans to drill oil and gas off the coast of California is a true statement. According to a report in The Guardian, the administration has developed a new offshore drilling proposal that would allow oil and gas companies to lease federal waters off the California coast, something that hasn’t happened in decades, with six planned offshore lease sales scheduled between 2027 and 2030. Under this plan, areas of federal waters previously protected from new drilling would be opened up for not only California, but also the eastern Gulf of Mexico. This highlights a significant policy shift because no new federal offshore oil and gas leases have been offered in Pacific waters off California since the 1980s, and drilling in California waters has not been done in decades. The proposal is currently a broader effort by the administration to expand domestic fossil fuel production and pursue “energy dominance,” but overall, because the administration has formally proposed reopening offshore leasing off California’s coast, the evidence confirms that the claim about planned oil and gas drilling in California waters is true. 

Answer 6

This claim is true, in late November of 2025, the Department of the Interior released its offshore drilling program for review. According to the interior secretary Doug Burgum on November 20th, 2025 he proposed offshore drilling to be overall beneficial to America's job security and that "our nation remains energy dominant for years to come". The Trump Administration allegedly tried to keep quiet about this project, with only allowing a 60 day public comment period before being passed. Although this plan does not only affect California, it proposes six offshore lease sales between 2027 and 2030 along the California coast, but it also plans to drill off the coast of Florida and Alaska. Although for most of this information I gathered, I could not find a direct source to the documented plan, I did find multiple news sources speaking on this plan. I cross-referenced multiple to make sure the information provided was not biased, rather straightforward facts.

On January 23rd , 2026, California Governor Newsom and the governors of Oregon and Washington submitted an official opposition to Trump's administration. They open up about the dangers of this proposal, including tens of billions of dollars lost and the risk of oil spills on communities. This drilling would not only affect people and governmental resources, but also California's marine ecosystems.

Resources used:

https://www.gov.ca.gov/2026/01/23/west-coast-governors-united-against-trumps-disastrous-offshore-drilling-plan/

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/trump-administration-proposes-new-oil-drilling-off-the-coasts-of-california-and-florida

https://www.ksbw.com/article/trump-admin-open-entire-calif-coast-oil-drilling/70095443

Answer 7

The Guardian article supports the claim made. It explains how the plan includes six offshore lease sales between 2027 and 2039, as well as drilling into the eastern gulf of Mexico. This article clearly was written with opposition to drilling explaining how there would be a negative impact on both tourism and wildlife. The Guardian states how Governor Newsom rebuked the proposal at the Cop30 climate summit, and that leases in this area less appealing than texas cause less supporting infrastructure. https://www.gov.ca.gov/2026/01/23/west-coast-governors-united-against-trumps-disastrous-offshore-drilling-plan/ This is an article published on the California government's website which is a reliable source to compare the guardian article to. This page on the website offers a bit more of an updated account of the situation, but regardless supports the information in the original guardian article provided. This California government mentions how Newsom has now filed formal opposition of this plan as of January 23, as well as many other facts that line up with the Guardians claims. Both articles take the stance of opposing oil drilling, and highlight the negative impacts for the wildlife.  The article also points out the negative economic impacts due to the oil drilling's potential effect on tourism. These articles were written to highlight the negative impacts of the drilling, and convince readers of their stance. It makes sense why California's government website would say this, because those in the California office do not support the drilling. https://www.dailywire.com/news/florida-republicans-arent-happy-with-trumps-offshore-drilling-plan This is an Article from the daily wire which is typically a republican leaning news source and therefore usually in support of the Trump administration's plans, so one might expect they would write an article with facts to support the drilling plan. However they point out how many supporters in Florida and the entire republican party are not in support of the plan. This shows how not only is this claim true, it is mostly opposed on both the right and left. Facts in the article provided and the claim that Trump plans to Drill off the Coast of California are consistent, even across typically opposing news sources. 

Answer 8

Yes, this claim is true. November 20th 2025, the US Department of Interior (DOI) announced a Secretary's Order titled "Unleashing American Offshore Energy." This is a proposal under the new 2026-2031 National Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program. Despite this being proposed, the states affected, Washington, Oregon, and California have released a letter opposing the inclusion of any new oil and gas lease sales off California’s coast.

The official DOI website gave me quotes and clear timelines of when these plans are proposed to be set, estimations of how much ocean would be affected, and the estimated oil output from offshore collection. The DOI press release is a strong source for hard information for the new proposal. Still the press release did contain biased political claim that makes the commentary and reasoning behind the proposal questionable. My second source was a letter opposing the new proposal written to Doug Burgum, Secretary of the Interior U.S. Department of Interior, from Washington's Governor Bob Ferguson, Oregon's Governor Tina Kotek, and California's Governor Gavin Newsom. The letter is a direct source. Despite questionable commentary in the press release, the letter confirms the legitimacy of the offshore drilling proposal.

https://www.doi.gov/pressreleases/interior-launches-expansive-11th-national-offshore-leasing-program-advance-us-energy

https://www.gov.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/CA-OR-WA-Offshore-Drilling-Letter_1.23.26.pdf

Answer 9

The Guardian article provided supports the claim made. It explains how the plan to include six offshore lease sales on California’s coast would have a negative impact on tourism and wildlife. It also explains how Governor Newsom rebuked the proposal for these reasons at the Cop30 climate summit. https://www.gov.ca.gov/2026/01/23/west-coast-governors-united-against-trumps-disastrous-offshore-drilling-plan/ This article was published on the California government's website which is a reliable source to compare the Guardian article against. This page on the website offers a bit more of an updated account of the situation, but regardless affirms the information in the Guardian article. California's website mentions how Newsom has now filed a formal opposition of this plan as of January 23. Both articles clearly express dissent to the oil drilling plan by highlighting the potential detriment to California’s wildlife and tourism. They were written to convince readers of the negative impacts of the drilling plan. It makes sense why California's government website would take this stance, because those in the California office have expressed that they are not in support of the Trump administration’s plan. https://www.dailywire.com/news/florida-republicans-arent-happy-with-trumps-offshore-drilling-plan This is an Article from the daily wire which is typically a republican leaning news source and therefore usually in support of the Trump administration's plans, so one might expect they would write an article with facts to support the drilling plan. However they point out how many supporters in Florida and the entire republican party are not in support of the plan. This shows how not only is this claim true, it is mostly opposed on both the right and left. Facts in the article provided and the claim that Trump plans to Drill off the Coast of California are consistent, even across typically opposing news sources.