Top Democrat says Trump administration would hurt national security with coal export plan

Rep. Adam Smith, the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, on Tuesday criticized a Trump administration proposal to use West Coast military sites to export coal and natural gas, saying doing so would harm national security.

“This is a clear attempt to circumvent environmental oversight and protections,” Smith said. “The Trump administration is once again using national security as an excuse to drive their short-sighted agenda. Turning our military bases into export terminals could be an encroachment risk and potentially harm military training, operations, and readiness.”