The Trump administration is delivering on its promise to make America energy dominant again.
And Biden’s climate change agenda is getting dismantled one policy at a time.
And now Trump just scored this massive victory over Biden’s green energy tyrants.
Department of Energy puts brakes on Biden’s building energy ban
President Donald Trump’s Department of Energy announced today it is delaying the implementation of a controversial Biden-Harris rule that would have restricted fossil fuel use in federal buildings.
The rule, finalized by the Biden administration on May 1, 2024, was scheduled to take effect this week on May 1, 2025.
Instead, in a significant policy shift, the compliance date has been pushed back a full year to May 1, 2026.
This pause gives the Trump administration time to review a rule that would have required federal buildings to reduce their fossil fuel-generated energy consumption.
“The Department of Energy is staying the compliance date for the newly adopted provisions in the Code of Federal Regulations,” the DOE announced in the Federal Register on May 5, 2025.
The now-delayed rule would have forced new federal buildings and major renovations to drastically cut fossil fuel energy use, limiting the ability of government agencies to use reliable, affordable energy sources like natural gas and coal.
Trump administration reviewing energy policies
Since taking office in January, President Trump has implemented new energy policies, as referenced in the DOE’s Federal Register notice.
The Department of Energy specifically cited the administration’s executive orders related to energy policy in its announcement, including Executive Order 14154, “Unleashing American Energy,” Executive Order 14156, “Declaring a National Energy Emergency,” and Executive Order 14262, “Strengthening the Reliability and Security of the United States Electric Grid.”
According to the Federal Register notice, “DOE is currently reviewing the recent implementation guidance and the template for petitions for downward adjustments to ensure that they are consistent with the policies of the current Administration.”
Clean Energy Rule implementation on hold
The Biden administration’s Clean Energy for New Federal Buildings rule required “certain new Federal buildings and Federal buildings undergoing major renovations to be designed to reduce their fossil fuel-generated energy consumption,” according to the Federal Register notice.
The rule also “provides a process for Federal agencies to petition for a downward adjustment from these requirements if applicable.”
On January 17, 2025, the DOE released implementation guidance for the rule and a template document for agencies to use when preparing petitions for downward adjustment.
Under the pause announced today, agencies will not need to comply with these requirements for another year. The Federal Register notice explicitly states that “Federal agencies are not required to comply with these applicable energy performance standards during this time.”
“DOE will not process petitions for downward adjustment during its review of the implementation guidance documents,” the Department stated today in the Federal Register.
Clean Energy Rule implementation delayed for a year
The delay means that the Clean Energy Rule’s provisions won’t take effect until at least May 1, 2026, a full year later than originally scheduled.
The document states that the Department is reviewing its guidance “to avoid regulatory burdens that would result if Federal agencies adhered to these guidance documents” during the review period.
The rule itself became effective on July 15, 2024, but would have applied to “certain newly constructed or majorly renovated Federal buildings for which design for construction begins on or after May 1, 2025.”
This change is part of a larger pattern of energy policy shifts under the Trump administration, as indicated by the executive orders referenced in the Federal Register notice.
The announcement was signed on April 29, 2025, by Mary Sotos, the Director of the Federal Energy Management Program, pursuant to delegated authority from the Secretary of Energy, and officially published in the Federal Register on May 5, 2025.
