U.S. House Passes a Significant Bill 226 to 188
The Republican-led House scored a major win this week for U.S. energy independence, passing legislation that would stop any future administration from unilaterally banning fracking or restricting oil and gas production without congressional approval — a direct response to the sweeping anti-energy policies of former President Joe Biden.
The Protecting American Energy Production Act passed 226–188, with every Republican voting in favor. A staggering 118 Democrats opposed the measure, signaling their continued allegiance to the climate activist left rather than American workers or affordable energy.
The bill explicitly forbids any president from “declaring a moratorium on the use of hydraulic fracturing unless Congress authorizes the moratorium.”
A Direct Reversal of Biden’s Final-Week Energy Crackdown
The legislation follows Biden’s unprecedented last-minute order banning future drilling across 625 million acres of offshore and coastal waters — part of the broader regulatory blitz that devastated American energy production before President Donald Trump returned to office and began undoing the damage.
Rep. August Pfluger of Texas, who authored the bill, said concerns about sweeping fracking bans grew rapidly during the Biden years.
“When President Biden took office, his administration took a ‘whole of government’ approach to wage war on American energy production, pandering to woke environmental extremists and crippling this thriving industry,” Pfluger said after the bill cleared the House.
He added: “My legislation that passed today is a necessary first step in reversing Biden’s war on energy by preventing the federal government from banning the use of hydraulic fracturing.”
Trump’s ‘Drill, Baby, Drill’ Agenda Gains More Momentum
President Trump has made domestic energy production a flagship priority of his second term, reviving the “drill, baby, drill” approach on the campaign trail and moving quickly to dismantle Biden-era climate mandates.
Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum has already launched internal reviews targeting agency rules that limit production, aiming to eliminate coercive climate directives and reopen leasing opportunities closed under Biden.
Even CNN Admits Democrats Are Losing the Economic Argument
Adding to the Democrats’ problems, a bombshell analysis from CNN revealed that despite months of fearmongering over Trump’s pro-energy policies and tariffs, Americans still overwhelmingly trust Republicans on the economy.
CNN data analyst Harry Enten appeared stunned on-air as he broke down the numbers.
“You would think after all of the waves, Kate Bolduan, after the last few months… that you’d expect that Democrats would have this massive lead on the economy. It ain’t so. It ain’t so,” Enten said.
He pointed to polling showing Republicans still hold an 8-point advantage in voter trust on economic issues — nearly identical to their lead before Trump returned to the White House.
“Are you kidding me?” Enten asked. “Republicans still hold an eight point lead on the economy.”
Bolduan pressed him for broader context.
Enten replied by citing a second survey:
“If it was just this one CNN poll, that would be one thing. But take a look at Reuters/IPSOS… In May of 2024, just before Donald Trump was re-elected president, Republicans had a nine point advantage. Look at where we are now in May of 2025… Republicans have a 12-point advantage when it comes to the party with a better economic plan.”
He continued:
“Despite all of that… the Democrats are down by 12 points on the economy. This speaks to Democratic problems on the economy better than basically anything that you could possibly look at.”
Enten concluded by noting Republicans have solidified control of the middle-class vote — a demographic that often determines national elections.
A Clear Mandate for U.S. Energy Dominance
With Trump back in the White House and Republicans holding the upper hand in economic confidence, the passage of the Protecting American Energy Production Act is another marker in the GOP’s push to restore American energy independence, rebuild the middle class, and end the era of executive-branch attacks on domestic production.