Trump is considering issuing an executive order to require an economic analysis of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, according to several people familiar with the matter, as the president seeks to use what he portrays as Biden’s mixed messages on energy to woo voters in the swing states of Pennsylvania and Ohio.
The order would call for U.S. agencies to analyze the economic impact of fracking, according to the people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss nonpublic deliberations. The order would also require an evaluation of how fracking, which is used to coax oil and gas out of underground rock formations, could be expanded, they said.
Judd Deere, a White House spokesman, declined to comment on the order but said: “Since taking office, President Trump has prioritized all forms of domestic energy production which has led to America becoming energy independent.”
The possible order, which was earlier reported by the Wall Street Journal, comes as fracking has emerged as a hot button issue of the 2020 election, with Trump claiming that Biden wants to ban the technique, despite the Democrat’s assertions to the contrary.
Biden said during a primary debate in March that he would ban fracking but his campaign clarified the next day he was only referring to banning it on federal lands. Biden has since said he doesn’t support a national fracking ban. Natural gas development is a major economic engine in Pennsylvania and Ohio.
