It’s official: President Joe Biden’s war on American energy just hit a major legal wall — and Alaska is punching back. A federal judge ruled Tuesday that the Department of the Interior (DOI) violated the law when it canceled oil and gas leases in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), confirming what conservatives have long argued: Biden’s green agenda is not just destructive — it’s unconstitutional.
In a decisive 22-page ruling, U.S. District Judge Sharon Gleason said the DOI acted unlawfully when it yanked seven legally issued leases from the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority (AIDEA). The judge rebuked the Biden administration for failing to obtain a court order before ripping up the deals, writing that such actions were flat-out “not in accordance with law.”
“There is no reason DOI could not file an action seeking declaratory relief,” Gleason stated, slamming the administration’s blatant disregard for legal process.
Let’s be clear: this isn’t just about Alaska — it’s about restoring the rule of law and stopping unelected bureaucrats from weaponizing federal agencies to carry out a far-left climate agenda at the expense of American jobs and energy independence.
The leases in question were issued legally during the final days of President Donald Trump’s first term, following the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which mandated oil and gas leasing in ANWR. But as soon as Biden stumbled into the Oval Office, he signed an executive order halting energy development and ordering a review of the leases — all under the flimsy pretext of “legal deficiencies.”
Sound familiar? It’s the same tired playbook: leftist bureaucrats using red tape and activist courts to override the will of the people and erase Trump-era progress.
When AIDEA challenged the moratorium in 2021, the court brushed them off, claiming it was only “temporary.” But when Biden’s Interior Department officially canceled the leases in 2023, AIDEA took them back to court — and this time, they won.
Judge Gleason pointed to the fact that the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act tied ANWR’s leasing program to the Naval Petroleum Reserves Production Act, which makes it crystal clear: you need a court order to cancel oil leases. The Biden regime never even bothered.
In a victory statement, AIDEA Executive Director Randy Ruaro nailed it: “Today’s decision proves that federal agencies with a political agenda to shut down Alaska and keep Alaskans from good-paying jobs must still follow the laws set by Congress.”
Exactly. The Constitution doesn’t take a coffee break just because Joe Biden and his climate czars are having a tantrum.
Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy also praised the ruling, saying, “Now the leasing program can move forward and could result in more safe, secure energy production right here in Alaska.”
This is more than just a courtroom win. It’s a rallying cry for the America First energy renaissance that President Trump reignited and the Biden administration has tried to suffocate at every turn.
Trump and his Secretary of the Interior, Doug Burgum, are already moving swiftly to undo the damage. On March 20, Burgum directed the Bureau of Land Management to unlock nearly 20 million acres in the National Petroleum Reserve and ANWR for exploration and development. That includes the entire 1.56-million-acre ANWR coastal plain and 82% of the National Petroleum Reserve.
Even better? Trump’s new executive order scrubs every anti-energy directive Biden’s team pushed between 2021 and 2025. Gone. Vaporized. And not a moment too soon.
Under the Trump-Burgum leadership, the National Energy Dominance Council is back in business. And so is common sense.
This ruling is a reminder that no administration — not even one run by green radicals and Ivy League bureaucrats — is above the law. And it’s proof that when conservatives fight, we win.
Now, let’s get drilling.
