By Audrey Streb
The Department of Energy (DOE) announced Monday that it is postponing the implementation of a Biden-era rule that would limit fossil fuel usage in federal buildings.
DOE is pushing its compliance date for the final rule to May 1, 2026 — one year later than originally planned — as it reviews the standards to ensure alignment with President Donald Trump’s administration priorities, a notice published in the Federal Register announced. The move is one of many that aim to forward the administration’s goal of prioritizing domestic energy efficiency over climate change regulations.
“Under President Trump’s leadership, the Department of Energy is embracing a strategy of energy addition – leveraging all sources that are affordable, reliable and secure,” Energy Secretary Chris Wright said in a statement. “This pause will ensure that our federal buildings are able to utilize the most efficient power available, lowering costs and reducing regulatory overreach,” he continued.
Energy Secretary Chris Wright holds a copy of “Energy, Economic, and Environmental Assessment of US LNG Exports” while speaking to reporters outside of the West Wing of the White House in Washington, DC, on March 19, 2025. (Photo by MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images)
The policy mandated that new or significantly renovated buildings reduce fossil fuel use by 90 percent for projects beginning between 2025 and 2029, and to eliminate it entirely for projects starting after 2030. The rule followed the Biden administration’s net-zero emissions goal in all federal buildings by 2045.
“These green buildings are pointless,” Steve Milloy, senior Energy & Environment Legal Institute fellow and former Trump EPA transition team member told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “The stuff doesn’t work, and it’s not cost effective. Contractors like it because it’s more expensive,” he continued.
Milloy added that “ironically, the old EPA headquarters had sick building syndrome because it probably saved energy by making buildings airtight.”
“It’s not good for the people that work in the building, and it doesn’t make sense for taxpayers,” Milloy said. “It’s just silliness, and it’s doing nothing for the environment,” he added.
The Department of Energy is now delaying enforcement while it reviews the rule to see that it aligns with the current administration’s focus on energy security and reliability, according to the Federal Register notice.(RELATED: Trump’s Energy Secretary Comes Out Swinging With Plan That Takes Sledgehammer To Several Biden-Era Policies)
Trump declared a national energy emergency upon day one of returning to office and signed an executive order to encourage domestic energy generation. Trump has cut red tape and paved the way to ease permitting for the coal, drilling, and mining industries since returning to office.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under Trump has taken numerous actions to rollback Biden and Obama era policies they considered to be threatening the supply of domestic energy.
“We are driving a dagger straight into the heart of the climate change religion to drive down cost of living for American families, unleash American energy, bring auto jobs back to the U.S. and more,” EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said in a March press release.
“Net zero 2050 is a sinister goal, it’s a terrible goal,” Wright said at the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship forum in London in February through a video broadcast. “It’s both unachievable by any practical means [and] the aggressive pursuit of it — and you’re sitting in a country that has aggressively pursued this goal — has not delivered any benefits, but it’s delivered tremendous costs,” he continued.
DOE and the Federal Register did not respond to the DCNF’s request for comment in time for publication.
