Could Coal's Comeback Be Accelerated by Trump's 'National Energy Dominance' Agenda?

March 13, 2025--Written by John Egan for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--"It could happen," was a trademark tagline delivered by comedian Judy Tenuta as part of her act built around outlandish and unlikely predictions. Yes, pigs could fly, she said. She might cure cancer. She could have a one-on-one meeting with Tom Bradley, at the time the mayor of Los Angeles.

At first glance, skeptics might say recent comments from Doug Burgum, secretary of the Department of the Interior (DOI) made in an interview at this week's CERAWeek conference, sounded like a 21st century invocation of Tenuta's 20th century act. In an interview March 10 at the Houston conference, Burgum told Bloomberg Television, "Under the national energy emergency, which President Donald Trump has declared, we've got to keep every coal plant open. And if there had been units at a coal plant that have been shut down, we need to bring those back."