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

After looking into this claim, I found that it is mostly accurate but missing important context. The Trump administration did propose expanding offshore oil and gas drilling and included areas off the California coast in a broader federal leasing plan. However, the claim does not fully explain that these were long-term proposals and that strong state opposition, environmental protections, and legal challenges made actual drilling in California unlikely.

BOEM is responsible for offshore oil and gas leasing. Their documents show that California waters were included in draft offshore leasing proposals, but these plans would have taken years to implement and were not guaranteed to move forward. https://www.boem.gov/oil-gas-energy/leasing

The Department of the Interior released plans supporting expanded offshore drilling nationwide. These proposals show intent at the federal level but also acknowledge regulatory and legal hurdles. https://www.doi.gov/

The Guardian article explains the proposed drilling plans and highlights the backlash from California officials and environmental groups. It helped show how controversial and uncertain the proposal was. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/nov/11/trump-administration-drilling-off-california

Reuters coverage helped clarify that offshore drilling proposals often face long timelines and legal resistance, especially in states like California. https://www.reuters.com/

Federal agencies under the Trump administration had an interest in promoting domestic energy development. News outlets like The Guardian may emphasize environmental concerns, while Reuters focuses more on policy process and outcomes. Looking at both helped balance perspective.

There is evidence that the Trump administration proposed expanding offshore oil and gas drilling and included California in draft leasing plans. These proposals were real and generated public controversy.

The claim implies that drilling was likely to happen, but California’s strong opposition, environmental laws, and legal challenges made actual drilling very unlikely. No new offshore drilling off the California coast ultimately took place.

The claim is based on reporting rather than a single individual’s statement, so I did not contact an original poster. The article itself includes statements from government officials and environmental groups.