The White House in Washington DC, USA, South front Portico.Workplace of the president of the United States.

The president’s actions aim to bolster coal production and exports and coal-fired power generation, highlighting the importance of coal to US economic and national security.

By Karl Karg, Devin M. O’Connor, Stacey VanBelleghem, and Bisi Ogunmefun

On April 8, 2025, President Trump signed an executive order (Order) to boost coal production and exports, following other White House actions designed to spur domestic energy production and power generation. This latest Order emphasizes the economic and national security importance of coal in US energy supply, including its use to fuel artificial intelligence (AI) data processing centers.

The Order outlines policies that aim to remove federal regulatory barriers to domestic coal leasing and production, promote coal exports, and bolster coal-fired power generation. More specifically, the Order:

  • directs the recently established National Energy Dominance Council to designate coal as a “mineral” pursuant to Executive Order 14241 (see our blog post on that order). This update incorporates coal into the directive of that order, which aims to use the Defense Production Act to enhance domestic production capacity, offer financial backing for new projects via a dedicated critical minerals fund, and promote favorable financing terms along with private-sector support.
  • mandates the assessment of coal resources on federal lands, requiring a consolidated report from the Secretaries of the Interior, Agriculture, and Energy within 60 days.
  • requires prioritization of coal leasing on federal lands, including through emergency powers and expedited environmental review. The Order also directs the Secretary of the Interior to publish notice of the end of a moratorium on coal leasing and to expeditiously process royalty rate reduction applications from federal coal lessees.
  • seeks to expand the use of categorical exclusions under the National Environmental Policy Act to facilitate coal production and exports.
  • calls for the review and potential rescission of regulations and policies that discourage coal production and electricity generation as well as investments in coal. The Order also requires identification and facilitation of export opportunities for coal and coal technologies.
  • requires the Secretary of Energy and the Secretary of the Interior to assess whether coal used in steel production qualifies as a “critical material” or “critical mineral” and, if so, to include coal on their respective critical material/mineral lists.
  • encourages the acceleration of coal technology development, including the utilization of coal byproducts for various applications such as building materials and battery components. The Order also requires the Secretaries of the Interior, Commerce, and Energy to develop a consolidated report, assessing the availability of coal-powered infrastructure to support AI data centers.

In a Proclamation issued the same day, the president cites the role of coal-fired electricity generation in ensuring grid reliability and national energy security, while expressing concerns over the stringent emissions controls imposed by the amended Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) rule. To address these concerns, the Proclamation invokes Section 112(i)(4) of the Clean Air Act (see our blog post on this provision) to grant a two-year exemption (until July 2029) from compliance with the amended MATS rule for certain stationary sources, allowing them to comply with the previous standards for an extended period. The exemption is based on energy reliability and national security grounds, as the potential shutdown of coal-fired plants could lead to energy shortages and increased dependence on foreign energy sources.

Key Takeaways

The Order and Proclamation are in line with the administration’s other actions intended generally to reduce regulatory burdens on energy production, including the January 20, 2025, “Unleashing American Energy” executive order that mandated a review of existing regulations that may burden domestic energy and mineral development (see our blog post on that order). It follows the Environmental Protection Agency’s announcement of 31 deregulatory actions the agency will prioritize, including multiple actions in the energy sector (see our blog post on that announcement).

Agency implementation of many of these directives will require analyses, formal determinations, notice-and-comment rulemaking, or other proceedings. These processes are projected to play out over months or a year or more and could lead to litigation.

Latham & Watkins will continue to monitor these and other developments in this area.