WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Department of the Interior announced a sweeping series of actions this week that together signal an aggressive push by the Trump administration to expand domestic energy production, reinforce national security at the southern border, and accelerate long-delayed infrastructure protections in the nation’s capital.
On Wednesday, December 10, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management successfully conducted Lease Sale Big Beautiful Gulf 1, the first mandatory offshore oil and gas lease sale required under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. The sale generated $300,425,222 in high bids for 181 offshore blocks spanning roughly 80 million acres in federal waters of the Gulf of America. Thirty companies submitted 219 bids totaling $371,881,093, reflecting strong industry demand.
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said the sale marked a turning point for U.S. energy policy. He said President Trump made clear from the beginning that the country would no longer be constrained by what he called bad policy or foreign dependence, adding that the lease sale represents a major step toward rebuilding American energy dominance, strengthening energy security, creating jobs, and ensuring affordable and reliable energy for consumers.
The sale advances Executive Order 14154, Unleashing American Energy, which directs federal agencies to accelerate offshore oil and gas development to lower costs, bolster national security, and improve global competitiveness. Acting Bureau of Ocean Energy Management Director Matt Giacona said the strong bidding reflected sustained industry confidence in the long-term potential of the U.S. outer continental shelf and the administration’s clear direction to expand responsible offshore development.
The final notice of sale was published in the Federal Register on November 10, 2025. For the first time in a decade, companies were invited to attend the sale in person, with the event also livestreamed for public viewing. A final statistical summary is expected within 90 days.
The Bureau offered approximately 15,000 unleased blocks across the Western, Central, and portions of the Eastern Gulf Planning Areas. To spur participation, a 12.5 percent royalty rate was applied to shallow and deepwater leases, the lowest deepwater rate since 2007. The Gulf of America’s outer continental shelf spans about 160 million acres and holds an estimated 29.59 billion barrels of undiscovered, technically recoverable oil and 54.84 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.
Interior officials noted that offshore energy revenues remain a major funding source for the U.S. Treasury, Gulf Coast states, the Land and Water Conservation Fund, and the Historic Preservation Fund. In fiscal year 2024 alone, offshore development generated $6.5 billion in royalties, $372.5 million in bonuses, and $122.8 million in rental payments.
Also on December 10, the department announced it will temporarily transfer jurisdiction of roughly 760 acres of public land in San Diego and Imperial Counties, California, to the Department of the Navy for a three-year period. The land will be used to establish a National Defense Area supporting ongoing border security operations.
Burgum said the move aligns with President Trump’s priorities on border security and national sovereignty. He said the action closes long-standing security gaps, strengthens national defense, and protects public lands from unlawful use.
The withdrawal area stretches from the western boundary of the Otay Mountain Wilderness Area to about one mile west of the California–Arizona state line, a corridor identified as one of the highest-traffic regions for unlawful border crossings. Interior officials said the sustained activity has posed national security challenges while contributing to environmental degradation. The land, originally reserved in 1907 by President Theodore Roosevelt for border protection purposes, will now support Navy operations designed to improve security while reducing ecological harm.
On Thursday, December 11, the department announced the early completion of the Tidal Basin seawall reconstruction, a $112 million project aimed at protecting some of Washington’s most iconic memorials and landscapes. The project was funded through the Legacy Restoration Fund created by the Great American Outdoors Act, signed into law by President Trump in 2020.
The completed phase strengthens the shoreline around the Jefferson Memorial, the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial, and the famed cherry blossom trees. It fulfills objectives tied to the executive order on Making the District of Columbia Safe and Beautiful. Officials said the work finished eight months ahead of schedule and about $30 million under budget. A second phase focused on the Potomac River seawall is scheduled for completion in May 2026.
Burgum said the project demonstrates what can be achieved through sustained investment in national landmarks, adding that the work protects historic sites, restores landscape integrity, and prepares the area for decades of future visitors as the nation approaches its 250th anniversary.
The reconstruction addressed decades of subsidence, frequent tidal flooding, and failing infrastructure along the south side of the Tidal Basin, where portions of the original seawall built more than a century ago had sunk by over five feet. The new structure features deeper foundations, wider and more accessible walkways, and a design intended to withstand stronger storms and rising sea levels.
While construction is complete, major landscape restoration will continue into spring 2026, when the National Park Service plans to plant 426 trees, including 269 cherry trees, to replace those removed during construction. To allow new plantings to establish, the Tidal Basin and West Potomac Park work areas will remain closed through the 2026 National Cherry Blossom Festival, with reopening expected shortly afterward.
Together, the announcements reflect an Interior Department agenda centered on energy expansion, security, and infrastructure investment, as the administration presses forward with policies it says are designed to strengthen the economy, protect national assets, and reinforce U.S. sovereignty at home and abroad.
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