The Washington Post reported Tuesday that “Trump officials are planning to propose oil drilling off the California coast for the first time in decades.” The five-year plan “proposes six offshore lease sales between 2027 and 2030 in areas along the California coast.”
The Post article said “The move is sure to antagonize Gov. Gavin Newsom and other Democrats in California.” That prediction was correct: Newsom replied to the article by writing that such a proposal would be: “Dead on arrival.”
Dead on arrival. https://t.co/ota2JEdJWS
— Governor Gavin Newsom (@CAgovernor) November 11, 2025
According to Bloomberg, “The administration also is set to outline potential sales of drilling rights in waters near Alaska and in the Gulf of Mexico, which was renamed the Gulf of America by President Donald Trump.”
At the 30th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP30) in Brazil this week, which the Trump administration is not attending, Newsom told reporters about Trump’s oil drilling plan: “It’s interesting he didn’t put it in front of Mar-a-Lago.” He added, “It’s disgraceful.”
The Governor’s Press Office, which has been trolling Trump in viral fashion, chimed in: “This plan is dead on arrival. Donnie, if you’re going to open up America’s coasts, why skip your own backyard at Mar-a-Lago?”
Let’s not forget: Trump ran for president and told oil executives ‘I need a billion dollars from you and I’ll roll back basically the last century of regulations.’
He is the polluted heart of this entire crisis. pic.twitter.com/JPtcWnhoVU
— Governor Newsom Press Office (@GovPressOffice) November 10, 2025
Note: During Trump’s first administration, in 2018, the Interior Department initially proposed to open nearly all U.S. coastal waters to drilling, but the idea was shot down by Republicans in the Southeast including then-Florida Governor Rick Scott. There is now a moratorium on drilling off Florida, Georgia and South Carolina through 2032.
Last month, now-U.S. Senator Rick Scott co-sponsored legislation that would codify the moratorium into law. Scott said in a statement: “I will always work to keep Florida’s shores pristine and protect our natural treasures for generations to come.”