WHAT’S HAPPENING TODAY: Good afternoon and happy Wednesday, readers! From Capitol Hill to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave, it’s been a busy day in the District.
With some help from our editor Joe Lawler, today’s edition of Daily on Energy kicks off with the Trump administration’s resetting of fuel economy standards, reversing rules put in place by former President Joe Biden last year.
Meanwhile, on the Hill, senators held a confirmation hearing for the president’s latest nominee for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Douglas Weaver. In an apparent bid to secure bipartisan support, Weaver made safety his top message.
Keep reading to find out more about a Democratic senator’s energy plan that could serve as a template for the party to use to get ahead of Republican opponents during the 2026 midterm elections.
Welcome to Daily on Energy, written by Washington Examiner energy and environment writers Callie Patteson (@CalliePatteson) and Maydeen Merino (@MaydeenMerino). Email cpatteson@washingtonexaminer dot com or mmerino@washingtonexaminer dot com for tips, suggestions, calendar items, and anything else. If a friend sent this to you and you’d like to sign up, click here. If signing up doesn’t work, shoot us an email, and we’ll add you to our list.
TRUMP REVERSES BIDEN-ERA FUEL STANDARDS: Another Biden climate regulation bites the dust as President Donald Trump has announced new fuel economy standards, reversing his predecessor’s attempt to promote electric vehicles.
The details: During an event at the White House just moments ago, Trump announced the Department of Transportation was canceling Biden rules in order to “reset” the Corporate Average Fuel Economy, also known as CAFE, standards. The administration claims the move will save Americans $1,000 for each new vehicle purchased and upward of $109 million over the next five years.
Trump blasted the rules imposed under the Biden administration, claiming the CAFE standards “gave all sorts of problems to automakers.”
“Nobody wanted to do it, and it was ridiculous, very expensive,” Trump said. “It put tremendous upward pressure on car prices, combined with the insane electric vehicle mandate…these policies forced automakers to build cars using expensive technologies that drove up costs, drove up prices, and made the car much worse.”
The move will make it easier for automakers to sell gas-powered vehicles and further curb the widespread adoption of electric vehicles, which have long faced the ire of Trump.
The reversal of the Biden standards came just months after the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said it was legally able to do so, claiming the Biden administration overstepped its legal authority by including electric vehicles in the regulations.
A reminder: In summer 2024, the Biden administration finalized strict CAFE standards to reduce vehicle emissions and accelerate the transition to EVs. These rules increased fuel economy standards by 2% per year for passenger cars and light trucks, a move the Biden administration claimed would save drivers more than $600 in fuel over the lifetime of their vehicles.
Heavy-duty vehicles were also required to increase fuel efficiency by 10% per year for model years 2030-2032 under the standards. These standards would have forced automakers to achieve an average of roughly 50 miles per gallon across 2031 model-year vehicles.
Read more from the Examiner’s White House reporter Mabinty Quarshie here.
NUCLEAR REGULATOR NOMINEE COMMITS TO SAFETY OVER SPEED BEFORE CONGRESS: Trump’s latest nominee to serve on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission told members of Congress today that he will prioritize safety over speed when making decisions on approvals for new large and small reactors, even if it costs him his job.
The details: Longtime nuclear regulatory expert Douglas Weaver appeared before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee this morning for the consideration of his nomination to the NRC. Weaver’s nomination has received little pushback from Democrats on the committee, largely due to his extensive experience in the nuclear industry and with the NRC, where he previously worked for nearly 20 years.
However, several Democratic members remain concerned that the Trump administration will overreach in its efforts to accelerate the approval process for new nuclear projects.
During his introductory testimony and responses throughout today’s hearing, Weaver attempted to assuage those concerns by emphasizing his own desire to prioritize safety in every decision.
“The NRC’s safety record is exemplary and in today’s rapidly evolving energy landscape the NRC must match safety excellence with regulatory agility,” Weaver told the committee. “While the NRC must act more expeditiously, speed cannot come at the cost of compromising safety.”
Multiple Democratic Senators pressed Weaver further on this, including California’s Adam Schiff, who asked Weaver whether he would be prepared to vote against a new design if general safety was in question even if it might cost him his seat on the commission.
“Absolutely, senator,” Weaver responded.
DOUG BURGUM TEASES SWIFT CONSTRUCTION OF ALASKA LNG PIPELINE: Interior Secretary Doug Burgum gave a keynote address at the North American Gas Forum today, touting the administration’s efforts to boost the oil and gas industries, including through increasing exports of energy products to European and Asian markets.
One project the administration hopes will facilitate these increased exports is the Alaska LNG Pipeline, which would stretch around 800 miles across the state starting in Prudhoe Bay along the Arctic Ocean, where the existing Trans-Alaska oil pipeline also begins.
The pipeline has been discussed for nearly two decades, but has long been viewed as a risky endeavor due to high capital costs, tough terrain, and pushback from environmentalists. The Trump administration is publicly backing the project and has been leveraging it in international trade agreements with Asian allies.
This afternoon, Burgum indicated that he is confident the pipeline will be built under this administration, in a large part thanks to the plans to construct it parallel to the existing oil pipeline.
“The original Alaska [oil] pipeline was built in 28 months 50 years ago…there was not even a road to be able to build a pipeline,” Burgum said. “This LNG pipeline goes on the same route, and so there’s absolutely, positively an ability to get this thing done in the shortest three years.”
You can read more of Callie’s reporting on how Alaska and its energy resources have become central to the administration’s trade policy here.
EUROPEAN UNION ACCELERATES PHASE-OUT OF RUSSIAN OIL AND GAS: The European Union is ramping up its efforts to end its reliance on Russian fossil fuels, with the bloc agreeing to fully ban imports of gas from Moscow within two years.
The details: Late last night, the EU agreed to a gradual but permanent end to Russian gas imports, banning imports of pipeline gas and liquefied natural gas from Russia by the fall of 2027.
LNG imports are expected to be phased out by the end of December 2026, while pipeline gas will be barred after September 2027. The EU will permit member states to extend that deadline until the end of October of the same year if their storage levels are below required filling levels.
Under the agreement, member states are required to submit national diversification plans by March 1, outlining measures they plan to take to diversify their gas and oil supplies as they lose Russian imports.
EU negotiators did offer one concession that would temporarily lift the Russian gas ban, triggered by a state of emergency declared by a member state. Any temporary lift on the ban would be limited and only cover short-term supply contracts.
In addition to the gas ban, the European Commission said it is committed to phasing out all remaining oil imports from Russia by the end of 2027. A legislative proposal to ban these imports is expected to be tabled early next year.
Key quote: “This is a big win for us and for all of Europe. We have to put an end to EU’s dependence on Russian gas, and banning it in the EU permanently is a major step in the right direction,” Lars Aagaard, Denmark’s minister for climate, energy and utilities, said in a statement.
CAUGHT OUR EYE – FORMER PORNHUB OWNER MAY BUY LUKOIL ASSETS: The former owner of an online pornography empire has approached the Treasury about buying the international assets of the sanctioned Russian oil company Lukoil, Reuters reports.
The businessman, Bernd Bergmair, sold MindGeek – which runs a number of pornographic websites like Pornhub – would be among a number of suitors for the assets, including Exxon Mobil and Chevron.
The assets, worth about $22 billion, include refineries in Europe, oilfields in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Iraq, and Mexico, and retail fuel stations around the world.
HOUSE GOP ADVANCES BILLS BLOCKING RULES ON GAS HOOKUPS AND SHOWERS: Republicans on the House Energy and Commerce Committee advanced a slew of bills meant to counter Democratic efforts to impose efficiency standards on houses and home appliances. The bills included measures to block bans on gas stoves, limit rulemaking relevant to appliances under the Energy Policy Conservation Act, repeal home efficiency programs enacted by the Inflation Reduction Act, and block regulation of showerheads, as complained about by Trump.
GALLEGO SUBMITS ENERGY PLAN: Sen. Ruben Gallego of Arizona put out an energy plan today that could serve as a template for Democrats to use in upcoming elections to gain an advantage over Republicans on the problem of costs.
One Big Beautiful Bill Act reversals: The plan includes reinstating a number of clean energy tax credits eliminated by the OBBBA, including credits for home efficiency and clean energy projects, and clean energy investment and production subsidies (including for nuclear power). Needless to say, those would entail significant spending.
What else it would do: Notably, the plan calls for significant permitting reform, including by reforming the National Environmental Policy Act to shorten timelines and provide categorical exclusions for clean energy, as well as by streamlining permitting for exploration for geothermal energy.
To meet the rising demand brought on by electrification and AI, the plan calls for, “rather than emphasizing speed over reliability in renewable and sustainable energy, transition deliberately to avoid the risk of blackouts or brownouts during hot summers, storms, or other power surges.”
To connect new energy sources to the grid, it also calls for permitting reform for transmission infrastructure, including more categorical exclusions for different kinds of projects.
Notable: Overall, the plan is squarely focused on boosting the supply of energy, as well as on helping workers in places that rely on energy production. One section calls for greater job transition programs for those who might be losers in an energy transition.
The 32-page document includes only one mention of “climate,” in a footnote. And it does call for speeding up permits for oil and gas pipelines.
ICYMI – ENERGY DEPARTMENT SHELLS OUT $800 MILLION FOR SMRS: The Department of Energy is increasing its investment in the development of small modular reactors, backing projects with the Tennessee Valley Authority and utility giant Holtec to advance the new nuclear technology.
The details: DOE announced yesterday that it selected TVA and Holtec to support early deployments of advanced light-water SMRs. TVA and Holtec will be receiving a total of $800 million to advance their projects in Tennessee and Michigan.
TVA’s project will be centered at its Clinch River Nuclear site, where it will be deploying a GE Vernova Hitachi BWRX-300 SMR. The federally owned utility will also be using some of the funds to accelerate the deployment of additional small reactors in collaboration with Indiana Michigan Power and Elemental.
Meanwhile, Holtec’s SMR development will be focused at its Michigan Palisades Nuclear Plant campus. It is here the utility also plans to reopen the 800 megawatt Palisades Nuclear Facility, marking the first decommissioned nuclear plant in the U.S. to come back online. Holtec will be using the DOE funds to deploy two SMR reactors, both around 300 megawatts in size.
“President Trump has made clear that America is going to build more energy, not less, and nuclear is central to that mission,” Energy Secretary Chris Wright said. “Advanced light-water SMRs will give our nation the reliable, round-the-clock power we need to fuel the President’s manufacturing boom, support data centers and AI growth, and reinforce a stronger, more secure electric grid. These awards ensure we can deploy these reactors as soon as possible.”
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