President Donald Trump has expanded the number of Cabinet officials who can independently exercise emergency powers over the nation’s energy supplies, marking the second such expansion in six months. An executive order issued Sept. 8 gives the interior secretary authority under the Defense Production Act that had previously been concentrated largely within the Department of Energy.
The order adds the interior secretary to a group of senior officials authorized to take independent action on energy-related matters under the law. Trump had already expanded the authority in March by placing the energy secretary alongside the commerce secretary under a provision designed to maximize domestic energy supplies. The latest move leaves the interior, energy and commerce secretaries with independent powers in this area.
Enacted in 1950, the Defense Production Act allows the president to require private companies to prioritize federal contracts over commercial customers and provides financial incentives to increase production of materials and technologies considered essential to national defense. Congress has reauthorized the law more than 50 times since its creation, giving successive administrations broad authority to respond to national security and supply-chain concerns.
The Interior Department oversees federal lands and waters containing major energy and mineral resources, including onshore oil and gas operations and offshore leasing. Its portfolio also includes coal, critical minerals, geothermal energy, and wind and solar development on public lands. Under Trump’s new order, the interior and energy secretaries can independently require certain energy-related contracts to receive priority and allocate energy resources when necessary to support national defense.
The order also establishes a mechanism for resolving disputes between the two departments through the National Energy Dominance Council, chaired by Interior Secretary Doug Burgum. Burgum, a former North Dakota governor, has played a central role in the administration’s energy strategy, including discussions with Venezuelan officials over the country’s natural resources. The move comes months after Trump announced a private-sector partnership involving Venezuela’s vast oil reserves, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth involved in negotiations with Venezuelan officials.
