One week after President Trump’s inauguration, the calls began anew for a carbon tax. Leading the charge for a new national energy tax were former Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson, former Secretaries of State George Shultz and Jim Baker – all of whom served under Republican presidents. The Left, including the media, salivated. A carbon tax was how we would finally ‘solve’ climate change, curb the rising seas, and lead the world into a fossil-fuel-free future! Aspirational progressive tunnel vision missed what had just occurred, with the election of a unified Republican Congress and a conservative in the White House.

Trump proclaimed that his presidency would be defined by an “America First energy agenda.” He pulled out of the Paris climate accord, halted the Clean Power Plan, approved the Dakota Access and Keystone XL Pipelines, expedited energy extraction permitting, and opened up offshore leasing for drilling. On top of this, Republicans passed historic tax reform, which included finally opening up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. This energy rich region of Alaska was shut down for development by President Bill Clinton.