The Senate approved legislation to rescind a Biden-era pause on federal coal leases in Wyoming’s Powder River Basin and sent the bill to President Trump. The basin provides about 40% of U.S. coal, but production has halved over the past decade amid falling utility demand and competition from gas and renewables. Supporters say the bill protects jobs and state industries; critics warn it overrides expert land management and ignores weak market fundamentals.
Senate Restores Powder River Basin Coal Sales — Bill Heads to Trump Amid Weak Market Demand
The Senate approved legislation to rescind a Biden-era pause on federal coal leases in Wyoming’s Powder River Basin and sent the bill to President Trump. The basin provides about 40% of U.S. coal, but production has halved over the past decade amid falling utility demand and competition from gas and renewables. Supporters say the bill protects jobs and state industries; critics warn it overrides expert land management and ignores weak market fundamentals.
11:52 PM, 11/20/2025Politics
The Senate voted 51-43 to reverse a Biden-era pause on federal coal leases in Wyoming's Powder River Basin, sending the measure to President Trump for likely signature. The basin supplies roughly 40% of U.S. coal production, making this a significant policy shift with national implications.
Late in his administration, the Interior Department froze new federal coal sales from the basin, citing climate concerns and falling demand as utilities retire or convert coal-fired power plants to natural gas and renewables. The new bill not only rescinds that pause but would bar future administrations from suspending Powder River Basin coal sales.
President Trump has championed coal and pushed to slow the industry’s decline in coal-producing states. His administration allowed some recent federal lease sales to proceed on the assumption Congress would overturn the Interior Department’s pause.
Despite the legislative victory, market conditions for coal remain unfavorable. Recent federal auctions in Wyoming, Utah and Montana drew little interest—some sales received no bids and at least one received bids the government deemed too low to accept. Over the past decade, annual production in the Powder River Basin has fallen from about 400 million tons to roughly 200 million tons (360 to 180 tonnes), a decline experts say is driven by demand, not just policy.
“Demand has fallen considerably. It’s not expected to turn around but continue to drop. It appears new leases are not what the industry really needs,” said Seth Feaster of the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis.
Supporters of the bill include Wyoming's all-Republican congressional delegation — Representative Harriet Hageman and Senators John Barrasso and Cynthia Lummis — and Governor Mark Gordon, who praised lawmakers for protecting the state’s mining sector.
“Wyoming’s congressional delegation did a yeoman’s effort to protect our mining industry and rescind this disastrous decision,” Gov. Mark Gordon said in a statement.
Opponents argue the measure removes expert land-management discretion and undermines environmental protections. Ashley Nunes of the Center for Biological Diversity criticized the bill for overruling Interior officials who developed the pause and for increasing pollution risks on public lands.
“Republicans are going out of their way to block basic environmental protections and burden our public lands with more pollution. It’s filthy and foolish,” Nunes said.
The vote sets up a clash between political support for coal-producing states and structural market forces pushing the energy sector toward cheaper, lower-emission alternatives. Even with the legal pathway reopened, the industry faces persistent economic headwinds that may limit any sustained increase in production.