Overview

• The administration set aside 5.3 million hectares of federal land and allocated $625 million to expand coal extraction.
• A tax law signed by President Trump cuts federal coal royalty rates to 7% from 12.5% to bolster producer competitiveness.
• Energy Secretary Chris Wright used emergency authority to keep a Michigan coal plant running and says most plants will postpone retirements.
• Agencies have accelerated leasing and permits and extended plant lifetimes, with reports of EPA rule exemptions and internal DOE guidance to avoid the term “climate change.”
• Coal operators and environmental groups question the plan’s viability, citing decades of market decline, an RMI estimate of $13–26 billion in annual health costs, and investor warnings that any rebound would be short‑lived.