By Jennifer A. Dlouhy | Updated on Oct 09, 2026 at 07:08 PM
President Donald Trump is set to direct the federal government to seek ways to overcome state obstacles to energy projects, following efforts threatening the development of a planned coal export terminal in California and a gas pipeline in New York.
The action, set to be laid out in a presidential memorandum to be issued as soon as Friday afternoon, was described by people familiar with the matter who asked not to be named because it is not yet public.
Under the memo, Trump is set to direct the Interior Department, Energy Department, Environmental Protection Agency and other agencies to address the state barriers to key energy infrastructure.
The move is in keeping with Trump’s second-term “energy dominance” agenda and the president’s efforts to accelerate the construction of pipelines and power plants. It also is expected to coincide with the president’s planned evening rally in Syracuse, New York, meant to boost Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman.
Trump has sought to assuage voters’ concerns about climbing energy costs — especially for diesel — before November’s midterm elections that will determine whether Republicans can keep control of the House and Senate. Cost-of-living concerns are weighing heavily over the contests.
While the memo isn’t expected to address specific projects, the people said, Trump has chafed at New York’s opposition to the proposed Constitution Pipeline that’s meant to deliver more natural gas to the Northeast. New York has challenged an environmental assessment of the Williams Cos. project.
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Trump’s directive also will come in the wake of a California bid to complicate the development of long-planned export terminal in Oakland, California. Trump had tapped Cold War-era authorities to make some $75 million in federal funding available for the proposed West Gateway terminal in June. But in October, Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law a measure that requires a new environmental study before any large-volume coal facility can be approved.
Supporters of the project say it would open a new avenue to ship potentially 12 million tons of US coal annually outside the country. But conservationists have fought plans for an export terminal in California for nearly two decades, arguing it would sustain the world’s demand for fossil fuels while also polluting local communities.