"The move comes after the White House previously proposed a huge expansion of drilling off U.S. coasts. Democratic and Republican governors have resisted offshore oil exploration."
"President Trump, who barely two years ago proposed a vast expansion of oil and gas drilling in U.S. continental waters, on Tuesday made clear there is at least part of the nation’s coastline he is eager to protect: the crucial electoral battleground of Florida.
Trump on Tuesday announced plans to extend a moratorium on oil drilling in the eastern Gulf of Mexico, an area that includes the Sunshine State’s west coast, as well as expanding it to include the Atlantic coasts of Florida, Georgia and South Carolina.
The move marks a stark reversal for Trump as he seeks to shore up votes in the tightly contested state ahead of the Nov. 3 election. For a president who has spent much of his first term working to expand U.S. oil and gas drilling and scale back Obama-era regulations on the fossil fuel industry, the move also underscores the political reality in Florida, where Republican governors have opposed oil exploration off their shores, fearing it could imperil beaches and harm the tourism-dependent economy."
Brady Dennis and Dino Grandoni report for the Washington Post September 8, 2020.
