Executive Order 13795, signed on April 28, 2017, dismantled two decades of environmental safeguards by revoking offshore drilling moratoriums that had protected U.S. coastal waters from oil and gas extraction. The order explicitly directed the Department of Interior to conduct a sweeping review of federal waters and to open previously restricted areas—including portions of the Atlantic, Pacific, and Arctic oceans—to energy development through expanded lease sales. This single executive action eliminated restrictions that had been established through prior administrative decisions and congressional actions, fundamentally reversing the trajectory of U.S. ocean protection policy.

The practical impact fell directly on coastal communities, marine ecosystems, and fishing industries dependent on healthy ocean environments. The order enabled oil companies to bid on federal leases in areas that had been off-limits, potentially affecting fisheries, tourism infrastructure, and local economies across multiple states. Marine wildlife including whales, sea turtles, and fish populations faced increased risks from drilling operations, seismic testing, and infrastructure development in sensitive habitats.

This 2017 action established a template that the Trump administration would expand systematically throughout 2026. The revocation of offshore drilling restrictions preceded a broader assault on environmental protections: the EPA leadership purge that eliminated regulatory capacity, the Defense Production Act invocation to prioritize fossil fuel extraction over environmental review, the dismantling of the Forest Service's regional management structure, and most directly, the administration's payments to abandon offshore wind projects in favor of fossil fuel development. Each action compounds the others, collectively gutting the institutional mechanisms designed to balance energy development against environmental preservation.

No major court challenges successfully blocked the 2017 order's implementation, though litigation proceeded on various lease sales conducted under it. Congress did not override the action. Reversing this trajectory would require either a new administration issuing a countervailing executive order or legislation reimposing restrictions and establishing renewed protections for federal waters—actions that would face significant political opposition from fossil fuel interests.