Vice President: Trump Administration ‘Absolutely Determined’ To Expand Opportunities For American Energy Development

Photo credit: twitter.com/VP

Vice President Mike Pence reiterated the Trump administration’s commitment to American energy development while touring a coal mine in Montana last Friday.

“I just want to assure you that this administration is absolutely determined to continue to expand the opportunities to develop American energy in an environmentally responsible way,” Pence said after visiting a mine on the Crow Indian Reservation on May 12.

“The president truly believes that American energy drives American prosperity and means American jobs,” Pence continued.

The vice president was joined by Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke and U.S. Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.) – also on horseback – on his visit. “I would rather produce energy here than be held hostage over seas and have to go to war overseas,” Zinke said.

The visit to Montana followed Zinke’s tour of the West last week, which was part of President Trump’s directive to review national monument designations made through the Antiquities Act since 1996. At a conference in Houston recently, Zinke said the “stars have lined up” for oil and natural gas development on federal lands.

Earlier this year, Trump signed executive orders reviving the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipeline projects, which were welcomed by blue-collar Democrats and representatives of the construction industry.