Even the Wall Street Journal sees it: Biden’s war on Alaska was lawless

When the Wall Street Journal editorial board calls out the Biden Administration for a “giant Alaska land grab,” you know things had gone too far.

For four years, the Biden team waged an open war against Alaska’s economy, our energy future, and even the will of Congress itself. And finally, one of the most widely read financial papers in the world is saying what Alaskans have known all along.

Last week, the US Senate approved a resolution—52 to 45—to overturn the Interior Department’s rule that restricted oil and gas leasing across 11 million acres of the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska. Congress set aside the NPR-A more than a century ago for the purpose of energy production. Yet the Biden Administration tried to treat it as if it were a national park.

The White House claimed it was acting out of respect for Alaska Native culture and heritage. But as Alaska’s own Native leaders have said, those claims were a smokescreen. The rule ignored their voices, violated congressional intent, and cut directly into the revenues that sustain rural communities. Sen. Dan Sullivan called it what it was: an illegal federal seizure dressed up in green rhetoric.

Under the Congressional Review Act, this Senate vote, joined even by Democrat John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, marks a rare moment. The resolution not only reverses Biden’s regulation but – this is important – also prevents future administrations from trying the same maneuver again. That’s critical for Alaska, where stability and predictability in resource development mean everything to our economy.

For years, the Biden climate agenda has been cheered on by activists and coastal elites who will never set foot north of 60 degrees latitude. But the consequences of their ideology land squarely on the backs of working Alaskans. The Wall Street Journal called it “lawless,” and they’re right. Biden’s team defied Congress, disregarded the people who live here, and crippled America’s ability to produce the energy we all depend on.

It shouldn’t take an East Coast newspaper to recognize that Alaska has been the canary in the coal mine for Biden’s energy policies. But the fact that even the Wall Street Journal is now editorializing on it tells you something: The facts have finally broken through the political fog.

Alaskans don’t need lectures from Washington about “protecting” our land. We need the freedom to use it responsibly to power the nation, provide jobs, and sustain our communities. The Senate vote is a step back toward sanity, and a small victory for those who still believe America should produce what it consumes.

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