Trump Signs Orders to Revive the ‘Abandoned’ U.S. Coal Industry

President Donald Trump has taken sweeping executive action to fulfill a major campaign promise: to revive the coal industry in the United States. On April 8, 2025, Trump signed four executive orders aimed at expanding coal mining, protecting coal-fired power plants, and rolling back regulations he says have “abandoned” an industry critical to the nation’s economy and energy security.

Speaking in the East Room of the White House, Trump stood flanked by coal miners in hard hats and Republican lawmakers from coal-producing states. “This is a very important day to me,” Trump said. “We’re bringing back an industry that was abandoned despite the fact that it was just about the best, certainly the best, in terms of power, real power.” His comments framed the day as both personal and symbolic, emphasizing his long-standing commitment to coal and fossil fuels.

What the Executive Orders Do

Trump’s four executive orders cover a wide range of policy areas and are designed to quickly boost coal production and usage. The actions direct federal agencies to repeal any rules that Trump says “discriminate” against coal. They open up new areas of federal land for coal mining and redefine coal from a “nonrenewable fossil fuel” to a “mineral.” This change allows coal to benefit from a March executive order promoting domestic mineral production, putting it in the same category as resources like copper and rare earth elements.

One of the most controversial aspects of the orders is Trump’s use of the Defense Production Act. Under his national energy emergency declaration, Trump is authorizing the government to prevent unprofitable coal-fired power plants from closing. He described this move as necessary to protect the nation’s electric grid and ensure that America has enough electricity to meet rising demand. “We’re going to give a guarantee that the business will not be terminated by the ups-and-downs of the world of politics,” he said.

Trump also ordered the Department of Justice to investigate what he calls illegal or unconstitutional state and local policies that target fossil fuels. The goal is to eliminate what Trump described as “government bias against coal.” He added, “We will rapidly expedite leases for coal mining on federal lands… and we’ll streamline permitting. We will end the government bias against coal.”

Trump’s View of Coal and Its Role in America

Trump has long championed coal as a symbol of American strength and energy independence. He often refers to it as “beautiful clean coal” and insists it remains essential to the nation’s future. “Never use the word ‘coal’ unless you put ‘beautiful, clean’ before it,” he told the crowd at the White House signing ceremony.

Trump linked coal production to national security and technological development, arguing that a growing economy needs reliable and constant power. “You know, we need to do the A.I., all of this new technology that’s coming online,” he said. “We need more than double the energy, the electricity, that we currently have.”

He also criticized the policies of President Joe Biden, claiming they were part of a broader attack on fossil fuels. “We’re ending Joe Biden’s war on clean coal once and for all,” Trump declared. He blamed Biden-era regulations for closing plants and eliminating jobs, saying, “The Democrats’ green new scam killed new jobs and sent prices soaring in America, but meanwhile China opened two new coal plants a week.”

The Status of the U.S. Coal Industry

The coal industry has been in decline for more than two decades. In 2005, coal was responsible for generating half of the electricity in the United States. By 2024, that number had dropped to just 14 percent, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Coal-fired electricity declined more than 2 percent in 2024 alone.

Jobs in the coal sector have also plummeted. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that as of March 2024, there were just over 33,000 coal mining jobs—less than half the number from June 2022. Meanwhile, the solar energy sector employed nearly 280,000 people.

Utilities have not built a new coal-fired power plant in more than a decade. Many older plants have been scheduled for retirement under strict environmental regulations like Biden’s “Clean Power Plant 2.0” and greenhouse gas rules that required coal plants to reduce emissions by 90 percent or shut down. According to the EIA, nearly half of the country’s coal plants are expected to retire by 2030.

Still, some coal-producing states and companies have taken steps to slow down these retirements. In 2024, Wolverine Fuels reopened Utah’s Fossil Rock mine after it had been closed for 23 years. Federal agencies, including the Army Corps of Engineers, have identified hundreds of energy-related projects that could be fast-tracked, including permits for coal operations in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Alabama.

Trump praised this progress, stating, “Already under our leadership, the Department of Interior has approved the expansion of the Spring Creek Mine in Montana, supporting 280 coal mining jobs and unlocking over 40 million tons of coal.”

How the Coal Industry Is Responding

Leaders in the coal industry were quick to applaud Trump’s executive actions. Michelle Bloodworth, CEO of America’s Power, a group that represents coal producers and utilities, said the orders were necessary to protect the electric grid and ensure national security. “This complacency has led to damaging federal and state policies that have caused the premature retirement of coal plants, thus weakening our electric grid and threatening our national security,” she said.

Rich Nolan, president and CEO of the National Mining Association, called Trump’s actions a “clear prioritization” of energy security. He said the policies “recognize the enormous strategic value of American mined coal and embrace the economic opportunity that comes from American energy abundance.”

Anthony Sable, an assistant mine foreman at Core Natural Resources’ Harvey Coal Mine, personally thanked Trump at the White House ceremony. “For far too long we were considered villains,” Sable said. “And to have a president that sees the value of you as a person and what you do, and what it means to not only the local economy, but what it means to the nation and to national security… is truly an out-of-body experience.”

Critics Say the Industry Cannot Be Saved

Environmental groups, clean energy advocates, and many economists argue that Trump’s coal revival is unlikely to succeed. They point out that coal is the most polluting fossil fuel, responsible for about 20 percent of all U.S. carbon dioxide emissions and over half of the emissions from the electric power sector in 2022.

“Trump tried this gambit in his last term. We fought it every step of the way—and it failed,” said Kit Kennedy, managing director for power at the Natural Resources Defense Council. “With the gains made by solar, wind, and battery power since then, bailing out coal makes even less sense today.”

Analysts also note that most coal plants are outdated and costly to operate. “Coal won’t return to the heights it once had in America. That’s simply not the world we live in,” said Collin Rees, a U.S. program manager for Oil Change International.

Legal experts say Trump’s plan to use emergency powers to keep coal plants open may also face challenges. “If the idea was tried again today, it would be likely to lead to lawsuits,” said Ari Peskoe, director of the Electricity Law Initiative at Harvard Law School. “Typically these emergency orders last for no longer than 90 days.”

A Battle Over the Nation’s Energy Future

Trump’s latest moves mark a sharp shift in U.S. energy policy. While his supporters see it as a long-overdue correction, critics say it is a step backward at a time when the world is rapidly moving toward cleaner energy.

Trump’s ability to bring back coal in a significant way remains uncertain. Still, with these executive orders, he has once again made coal a central issue in the ongoing debate over America’s energy future.

“We’re going to keep those coal miners on the job,” Trump said, “and tell them to just remain calm because we’re going to have that plant opening and burning the clean coal—beautiful, clean coal—in a very short period of time.” Whether that promise can be delivered remains to be seen.