President Joe Biden’s 60-day moratorium on new oil or natural gas leases and drilling permits on federal land is prompting widespread anxiety in New Mexico—one of the nation’s top energy producers—as a broad coalition argues it forces the entire country to be more reliant on foreign energy, while also impeding environmental progress.
New Mexico business leaders, Republican figureheads, the oil industry, and workers in the state were quick to voice their opposition to the executive order, saying it would destroy the state’s economy. Some told The Epoch Times the move would force workers to relocate to states such as Texas, while others worried the freeze would become permanent.
