Last month, the Trump administration quietly pushed the country further into authoritarianism. There were no masked federal agents, no mass protests and no confrontational press conferences.<\/p>\n
But by\u00a0invoking the Defense Production Act<\/a>\u00a0to restart a troubled oil pipeline in California, the administration ignored both state law and court orders and went against the will of elected officials and their constituents. These actions trampled on the idea of state sovereignty in a way that should horrify every American, right, left or center.<\/p>\n A 122-mile onshore pipeline that ships oil produced at three offshore platforms off Santa Barbara from the Las Flores Canyon facilities to the state\u2019s Central Valley had been shut down for more than a decade following its\u00a0catastrophic 2015 spill<\/a>.<\/p>\n That spill, caused largely by corrosion, released an estimated\u00a0450,000 gallons of oil<\/a>. The flood of crude devastated 150 miles of California\u2019s coast, killing hundreds of birds and marine mammals and shutting down beaches and fisheries.<\/p>\n It was California\u2019s worst oil spill in decades. And the corrosion threats that contributed to this catastrophe still haven\u2019t been adequately addressed despite the Trump administration\u2019s order to immediately turn on the spigots.<\/p>\n Sure, Trump and his cronies love to bully California, but it would be a mistake to think this will end with the Golden State. The administration set a dangerous precedent that could hamper any state\u2019s ability to manage and protect its environment and public safety.<\/p>\n Not only is Trump\u2019s order unprecedented, it\u2019s also illegal. The White House needs a legitimate reason to invoke the wartime emergency law, and this isn\u2019t one.<\/p>\n Environmental groups \u2014 including the one I work for \u2014 are prepared to make that case. I believe a court will see through the administration\u2019s paper-thin national and economic security justifications for greenlighting this unsafe and legally barred project.<\/p>\n Still, this blatant abuse of the Defense Production Act begs the question: How far will Trump go? What about local governments opposed to water-hungry data centers? Or state agencies blocking a proposed mine over health concerns? Politicians on the East Coast opposing expanded offshore oil production off their coastline?<\/p>\n Good luck. The White House is sending a message that, under the guise of a national security emergency, it can bypass state laws and processes that safeguard the environment, public health and the climate \u2014 or potentially anything else.<\/p>\n The administration\u2019s California pipeline orders certainly shrugged off some disturbing facts. Sable Offshore Corp., or Sable,\u00a0purchased the Santa Ynez Unit in 2024<\/a>\u00a0and has been pushing to restart the idled pipelines ever since. Since then, Sable has racked up numerous violations, lawsuits and even criminal charges over failures to adhere to California\u2019s coastal protections.<\/p>\n Sable is now facing a new wave of\u00a0public and political opposition<\/a>\u00a0from restarting the pipelines, in addition to newly raised legal challenges. That\u2019s the system at work \u2014 Sable hasn\u2019t adhered to state laws and requirements that ensure public and environmental health and safety, so the state and public are taking actions to hold it accountable.<\/p>\n An executive order overriding those requirements undermines not only California\u2019s environmental protections, but the basic idea of federalism. If Trump can deploy the Defense Production Act to ignore California\u2019s laws and decisions today, he might attempt do the same to other states tomorrow.<\/p>\n Lawmakers in\u00a0Florida<\/a>,\u00a0South Carolina<\/a>,\u00a0Virginia<\/a>,\u00a0Alaska<\/a>\u00a0and other coastal states have voiced skepticism \u2014 and sometimes outright opposition \u2014 to the \u201cdrill, baby, drill\u201d approach to offshore oil and gas expansion off their shores. Trump\u2019s executive order suggests that opposition can be swept aside whenever the White House decides a pet project needs some help.<\/p>\n Americans are exhausted by Trump. And maybe that\u2019s by design. Authoritarianism is most insidious when it\u2019s presented as routine policy, done without spotlight or spectacle, in a way that sets the stage for future power grabs.<\/p>\n We\u2019re inundated by the litany of illegal, offensive and unprecedented actions taken by this administration. But Trump\u2019s California pipeline order represents a disturbing new threat.<\/p>\n If states are stripped of their ability to govern, regulate and make laws protecting their own residents, what will stop a power-hungry and corrupt White House from greenlighting destructive and unwanted projects in any community in America?<\/p>\n Talia\u00a0Nimmer\u00a0is an attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity. She is working on litigation related to the invocation of the Defense Production Act to restart the California oil pipeline.<\/p>\n Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.<\/p>\n