Appeals Court Hands Biden Major Loss in Fight Against Fossil Fuels

Joe Biden took a massive shot to the gut this week in his quest to end fossil fuels.

Oil and gas leases have been virtually nonexistent during this administration, which is illegal, by the way, but Biden figured out a workaround.

The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, however, has ordered the nonsense to stop.

Sell the Leases

As part of the Inflation Reduction Act, the act that actually does nothing to curb inflation, the Biden administration was required to move forward with Lease Sale 261, which is a massive Gulf of Mexico oil and gas lease.

The sale was delayed, as Biden has done with other lease sales, when the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), which falls under the Department of the Interior, slapped some last-minute restrictions on the lease to make it more eco-friendly.

The delay was fought in court, and the Biden administration lost, so it appealed. Now the appeals court has also ruled against the administration, giving it 37 days to hold the sale.

The restrictions added were meant specifically to protect the endangered Rice’s whale.

The ruling stated, "At least one whale would need to traverse the area in which oil-and-gas activities are occurring under Lease Sale 261 and be killed by such activities.

"But in four separate environmental reviews over the last seven years, BOEM concluded that additional protections for the Rice’s whales are unnecessary outside of their ‘core’ habitat in the eastern Gulf — an area unrelated to Lease Sale 261 that has long been protected from oil-and-gas leasing.

"At least one member of an Intervenor organization would need to go sight-seeing in the Rice’s whale’s habitat with intent to see the Rice’s whale after its population is diminished — events the dates of which remain unknown.”

American Petroleum Institute (API) Senior Vice President and General Counsel Ryan Meyers celebrated the win, stating, "Energy independence scored an important win tonight with the Fifth Circuit decision lifting unjustified restrictions on oil and natural gas vessels and restoring acreage for offshore energy development.

"The U.S. Gulf of Mexico plays a critical role in maintaining affordable, reliable American energy production, and today’s decision creates greater certainty for the essential energy workforce and the entire Gulf Coast economy.”

Get ready for the tears to flow on the left because they are coming, but the only thing that can stop this now is if Biden takes this to the Supreme Court.

However, with both lower courts finding in favor of the plaintiff, I would expect the court to defer to their rulings.