California Natural Resources Secretary Wade Crowfoot explains how state will fight Trump’s latest oil plan | California Politics 360
The Trump administration has announced *** plan for new oil drilling off the coast of California and Florida. California has been *** leader in restricting offshore oil drilling. Last week I spoke with California’s Natural Resources secretary Wade Crowfoot. Here’s part of our conversation. Wade, thank you so much for making time for us. Thank you for the opportunity. Wade, I want to start with the Trump administration’s apparent push to have some oil drilling projects along the coast, including the coast of California. Just have you learned anything more about this and what is the Newsom administration doing about it? President Trump has been threatening for weeks to uh propose to open up new offshore drilling off California and yesterday that proposal dropped. We weren’t provided any notice or any briefing on that from the federal administration. We know what the public knows, which is the president. is interested in massive expansion of offshore oil drilling off most of the coast of California. So what is the response from California look like? Is it, is it an attempt to sue the administration over this? First, it’s expressing grave concern and clear opposition. Californians love our coast, uh, and expanded offshore drilling threatens our economy that depends on the coast, coastal communities, and of course our environment. Uh, 3 out of every 4 Californians have made very clear their opposition to expanded offshore drilling. So both Governor Newsom and our congressional delegation very clear that it’s not appropriate here. It’s really important to note that other states have also expressed concern about the president’s desire for expanded offshore drilling, including Florida and the Carolinas. Interestingly, the president has not proposed expanded drilling in those states and is targeting uh California for expanded drilling. Governor Newsom, uh, last week said very clearly that this, this is *** proposal that we will oppose in every way possible, and he used the terms dead on arrival. So just to again to be more specific though, what, what does the immediate response look like? Is it litigation? It very well could be litigation. You know, the state of California is legally. Plunging where we believe the federal government is breaking the law. If it’s litigation that will stop this proposal, I have every confidence that our governor or attorney general will advance that. It’s also engaging in *** public process from here to make very clear this official opposition. So we will work in every way possible to ensure that this never becomes *** reality. That news broke when you all were at COP 30. President Donald Trump, I know the governor really, um, was, was critical of, of him for not even having *** note taker at that United Nations climate conference, but, but were people actually really that surprised that the Trump administration decided to not show up? Well, I’d say this, you know, every government in the world, save our own, came together in Brazil to work toward combating climate change. We know we share one atmosphere, so these challenges that we’re having in California. That others are having, it’s *** global response that’s needed. And, you know, we were there, Governor Newsom was there because American leadership is needed in this situation, right? President Trump, the Trump administration, virtually uh non-existent. So, what we heard from leaders from across the world is appreciation that California and other American states were actually there and the importance of America playing *** role. We’re the largest economy in the world, our country, and so if we’re not stepping in to help solve this problem, what message does it? And to others, the governor was maybe not surprised that the president would announce the idea of, of expanding offshore oil drilling at this moment when the rest of the world is coming together to combat climate change, but he was very clear in his response, and again that is clear opposition to this, this proposal.
California Natural Resources Secretary Wade Crowfoot explains how state will fight Trump’s latest oil plan | California Politics 360
Updated: 8:25 AM PST Nov 30, 2025
As President Donald Trump pushes a plan to open new offshore oil drilling off the coast of California, the state’s leaders are preparing to fight back. In an interview on California Politics 360, California’s Natural Resources Secretary Wade Crowfoot said the state’s leaders only know what the public knows and that Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration had not yet been provided a briefing from the Trump administration. “Californians love our coast and expanded offshore drilling threatens our economy, coastal community and our environment,” Crowfoot said. “It’s not appropriate here.” When asked if the state’s response could include a lawsuit to try to get the courts to block the plan, Crowfoot said, “It very well could be.” “If it’s litigation that could stop this proposal, I have every confidence in the world that our governor and attorney general would advance that,” Crowfoot said. “We’ll work in every way possible to ensure this never becomes a reality.”Watch the full interview with California Natural Resources Secretary Wade Crowfoot in the video player below:KCRA 3 Political Director Ashley Zavala reports in-depth coverage of top California politics and policy issues. She is also the host of “California Politics 360.” Get informed each Sunday at 8:30 a.m. on KCRA 3.See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel
As President Donald Trump pushes a plan to open new offshore oil drilling off the coast of California, the state’s leaders are preparing to fight back.
In an interview on California Politics 360, California’s Natural Resources Secretary Wade Crowfoot said the state’s leaders only know what the public knows and that Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration had not yet been provided a briefing from the Trump administration.
“Californians love our coast and expanded offshore drilling threatens our economy, coastal community and our environment,” Crowfoot said. “It’s not appropriate here.”
When asked if the state’s response could include a lawsuit to try to get the courts to block the plan, Crowfoot said, “It very well could be.”
“If it’s litigation that could stop this proposal, I have every confidence in the world that our governor and attorney general would advance that,” Crowfoot said. “We’ll work in every way possible to ensure this never becomes a reality.”
Watch the full interview with California Natural Resources Secretary Wade Crowfoot in the video player below:
KCRA 3 Political Director Ashley Zavala reports in-depth coverage of top California politics and policy issues. She is also the host of “California Politics 360.” Get informed each Sunday at 8:30 a.m. on KCRA 3.
See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel