After departing from Lake Charles Port in the United States, the liquefied natural gas tanker BW MAGNOLIA unloads US LNG at the Revithoussa terminal in Megara, Greece, on December 1, 2025.
(Photo by Nicolas Koutsokostas/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Trump’s Surging LNG Exports
Cost US Consumers
$12 Billion in Just 9 Months
“Trump explicitly promised voters he would slash utility bills by half within the first year, yet in the first nine months of his term, they surged,” said the author of Public Citizen’s new report.
Underscoring expert warnings that exporting liquefied natural gas not only worsens the climate emergency but also drives up energy prices for Americans, Public Citizen revealed Tuesday that as LNG exports surged under the Trump administration, US households paid $12 billion more in utility bills from January through September than they did last year.
In other words, “the costs borne by residential consumers in the first nine months of 2025 are up 22%,” or an average of $124 per family, according to an analysis of federal data by Tyson Slocum, director of the consumer advocacy group’s Energy Program and author of the new report. “LNG exports are also up 22% over that same time.”
His report highlights President Donald Trump’s 2024 campaign pledges, pointing to a Newsweek op-ed and various speeches across the country. Slocumsaid in a statement that “Trump explicitly promised voters he would slash utility bills by half within the first year, yet in the first nine months of his term, they surged, squeezing some of the country’s most vulnerable households.”
Now, “1 in 6 Americans—21 million households—are behind on their energy bills,” which “are rising at twice the rate of inflation,” the report states. “Even registered Republican voters are increasingly blaming President Trump for the affordability crisis.”
“Limiting or prohibiting LNG exports would provide immediate relief for households across the country, but it would require action from the White House.”
It’s not just “higher domestic natural gas prices, driven primarily by record LNG exports,” affecting US utility prices, the report acknowledges. Other factors include “electric transmission and distribution costs, which includeextreme weather and wildfire liabilities. These costs are administered by state or federal regulators and have been exacerbated by climate change.”
“Electricity demand load growth, driven by the rise of artificial intelligence data centers, along with transportation electrification,” is also having an impact, the document details. Additionally, “Trump’s unprecedented cancellation and revocation of billions of dollars of permitted renewable energy projects, combined with his unlawful abuse of emergency authorities to impose punitivetariffs, have injected chaos into domestic supply chains, stifling domestic investment in energyinfrastructure.”
As the report explains:
Of these four factors, record natural gas exports not only represent the largest impact on natural gas prices, but feature clear statutory solutions to help protect consumers. The Natural Gas Act—passed by Congress during the Great Depression—asserts in Section 1 that “the business of transporting and selling natural gas for ultimate distribution to the public is affected with a public interest,” with the US Supreme Court affirming that the “primary aim” of this 87-year-old law is “to protect consumers against exploitation at the hands of natural gas companies.” Section 3 of the law forbids exports of natural gas unless the Department of Energy determines the exports to non-Free TradeAgreement countries are “consistent with the public interest.”
Rather than living up to those obligations, Slocum said, “Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum have acted as global gas salesmen, traveling to Europe to push exports and gut Europeanmethane regulations while attacking mainstream climate science. Meanwhile, Trump has done nothing to keep prices down at home.”
“Limiting or prohibiting LNG exports would provide immediate relief for households across the country, but it would require action from the White House,” he added. “Trump would need to stand up to some of his fossil fuel donors to make our energy more affordable.”
It’s not just Public Citizen pushing for action by the president. US Sen. Edward Markey (D–Mass.)—the upper chamber’s leading champion of the Green New Deal—joined a press event for the group’s new report. He stressed that “record-breaking levels of natural gas exports are breaking the bank on your monthly energy bill.”
Public Citizen released the report just a day after Bloomberg also noted what the export boom means for US energy prices.
“We have been talking about, in apocalyptic terms, for a decade now when the world would start taking away America’s cheap gas,” Peter Gardett, CEO of Noreva, an energy trading platform specializing in power, told Bloomberg. “Well, we’re here.”
Presented by The Campaign for Sustainable Rx Pricing
A man carries a mask as he walks along Roosevelt Avenue in New York City. | Spencer Platt/Getty Images
AFTERSHOCKS — Within three years of the first government-mandated shutdowns, polling suggested that Covid-19 and its aftermath had become one of the least important issues to Americans. By the time the 2024 election rolled around, it barely registered at all in surveys.
But looking back at the past year in politics and policy — as well as culture — it seems clear that this was once again a year shaped and created by Covid. The latest example? Vermont’s recently re-elected Gov. Phil Scott was forced to cancel public appearances this week after testing positive for the virus.
The culture we live in, our politics, our politicians, the way we think about our economic circumstances, and even our families are still reckoning with the aftershocks every day.
Few people still think about fomites, R-naughts or vaccine trials anymore. Rather, It is the spirit of the pandemic and its response that has seeped into our lives and reordered them.
Take a trip to the grocery store. Ask yourself, if you see that paper towels are in short supply as you roll your cart down the aisle, do you wonder about shortages more than you used to? Do you wonder about supply chain resilience? That March 2020 spirit begins to move back in, even if the shortage is simply a store issue. (Or maybe they are still understaffed, as they have been for a couple years? The grocery store basically becomes a choose-your-own-adventure of Covid themes.)
The pandemic experience spawned an entire cohort of voters for whom opposition to vaccine mandates and government lockdowns is central to their political identities. While the country clearly says it doesn’t want to think about Covid anymore, the federal government plans to continue probing its after-effects. Many who decried Biden-era pandemic policy on everything from the operation of schools to vaccines and business restrictions will now occupy top governmental seats in the second Trump administration.
Even our biggest recent cultural moments are indelibly marked by the stamp of Covid — an expression of the desire to memory-hole Covid with mass events that run counter to an era of masking and social distancing.
The Olympics this summer were one such blockbuster event — in television ratings and cultural attention — in direct contrast to the previous two editions, which were each unofficially Covid-themed oddities. In the world of concerts, fans clearly wanted to return to arenas and stadiums; five of the 10 highest-grossing concert tours of all time took place at least partially in 2024 (headlined, of course, by Taylor Swift.)
Need further confirmation? Take the Billboard Hot 100 list’s now co-longest running song, Shaboozey’s “A Bar Song,” which begins: “My baby want a Birkin , she’s been tellin’ me all night long, Gasoline and groceries, the list goes on and on, This 9 to 5 ain’t workin’, why the hell do I work so hard?”
Yes, for 19 weeks, a song that began with complaints about the high cost of groceries was the No. 1 song in the country. That pandemic-related inflation — the biggest issue for Americans in the 2024 election — was the result of economic conditions created directly by the Covid outbreak and the efforts of governments around the world to pull themselves out of a recession spiral.
Politics, culture and economy aside, there are smaller signs of Covid’s lingering influence. When I moved to a new DC apartment this year, I was greeted by a lovely ornament outside my door: the floor’s hand sanitizer station. But upon attempting to use it, it appeared empty. And it has sat, empty, for months right there. America may be done thinking about the pandemic, but its scars won’t stop reminding us.
A message from The Campaign for Sustainable Rx Pricing:
Big Pharma’s patent abuse drives up drug prices and blocks competition – costing patients and the U.S. health care system billions. Patent thickets protect profits, not innovation, and extend monopolies on blockbuster drugs while millions of Americans struggle to afford their medications. This year, the Senate unanimously passed Cornyn-Blumenthal, a bipartisan solution to curb these anti-competitive tactics. Time is running out – Congress must pass Cornyn-Blumenthal and deliver relief to patients before it’s too late. Learn more.
What'd I Miss?
— Connolly wins vote to be top Oversight Democrat: Rep. Gerry Connolly cemented his victory as the top Democrat on the Oversight Committee , besting Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in a closed-door caucus vote this morning, according to two people in the room for the vote. On Monday, Connolly (D-Va.) won the recommendation of the powerful Democratic Steering and Policy Committee, which oversees committee assignments. The caucus has generally followed the steering panel’s picks. Connolly, a veteran investigator, had launched his bid after current Oversight ranking member Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) launched a bid to become the top Judiciary Committee Democrat.
— Kamala Harris urges supporters to ‘stay in the fight’: Vice President Kamala Harris today sought to rally Americans demoralized by her electoral loss , urging them to “stay in the fight” ahead of President-elect Donald Trump’s return to the Oval Office. “In moments like this, the true test of our character is how resilient and persistent we are to pursue the future that we all can see,” she said in a speech to young voters in Maryland, in which she did not mention Trump by name. “Do we throw up our hands, or do we roll up our sleeves?” The appearance represented Harris’ first major public remarks since she conceded the November election.
TRUMP TEMPER TANTRUM!
— Trump sues Iowa pollster over survey that showed Harris ahead: President-elect Donald Trump is suing retired Iowa pollster J. Ann Selzer over her pre-election survey that showed Vice President Kamala Harris leading in the state, calling it “brazen election interference.” The shock poll, which drew national attention given Selzer’s record of success in Iowa, proved incorrect: Trump won the state by more than 13 points. But that has not stopped the president-elect from claiming the poll was intended to manipulate the results of the election.
Billions in spending. Critical foreign aid. Immigration reform. The final weeks of 2024 could bring major policy changes. Inside Congress provides daily insights into how Congressional leaders are navigating these high-stakes issues. Subscribe today .
THE NEXT ADMINISTRATION
CHINA IS LEADING THE WORLD WITH CHEAP CLEAN ENERGY & THEY'RE PROSPERING - YOU CAN THANK TRUMP, REPUBLICANS & DIRTY ENERGY!
While the report from the Energy Department stops short of recommending the U.S. cap exports, as environmentalists had demanded, it recommended that regulators take a much stricter line in determining whether the United States’ soaring gas permits are benefiting or imperiling the national interest.
That advice could give opponents of the growing trade a new tool to challenge any new liquefied natural gas plants that the energy industry seeks to build on President-elect Donald Trump’s watch. And it could hand Trump’s critics new legal tools to file challenges that frustrate his wishes.
BROOKS AT HHS — President-elect Donald Trump has tapped John Brooks to lead his HHS landing team , three people familiar with the selection granted anonymity to discuss government transition efforts told POLITICO.
The elevation of Brooks, a former senior Medicare official during Trump’s first term who went on to advise former HHS Secretary Alex Azar on drug pricing policy, lends policy heft to a Trump health team that has faced scrutiny over its top nominees’ lack of government experience.
McKenna, a private pilot who heads a small Washington advisory and investment firm, would be the latest of Trump’s picks to take on a top job at the Pentagon without significant experience inside the building.
McKenna served in the White House Liaison’s office at the Agriculture Department during the George W. Bush administration before jumping into the private sector, according to a biography on his firm’s website.
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AROUND THE WORLD
A view of the blast scene, which killed leading Russian military officer Igor Kirillov and his assistant outside a residential building in Moscow today. | Alexander Nemenov/AFP via Getty Images
Lieutenant-General Igor Kirillov, commander of the nuclear, biological and chemical forces of the Russian army, died in a blast as he was heading out of a residential block in Moscow, the Russian Investigative Committee said in a statement.
An explosive device was hidden in an electric scooter parked nearby. Kirillov’s aide also died in the attack, the investigative committee said, announcing a criminal investigation. Video footage obtained by POLITICO corroborates that version of events.
Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) claimed responsibility for Kirillov’s murder, a Ukrainian law enforcement official told POLITICO after being granted anonymity to discuss the sensitive topic. excerpt: A few hours before the attack, the SBU charged Kirillov in absentia for ordering the massive use of banned chemical weapons against the Ukrainian army on the eastern and southern fronts of the battlefield.
“Since the beginning of the full-scale war, following Kirillov’s orders, the Russian army used different types of banned chemical munitions against Ukraine more than 4,800 times,” the SBU said in a statement Monday.
More than 2,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been sent to hospitals with varying degrees of chemical poisoning since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022.
“Russians use ammunition with poisonous substances in the form of discharges from FPV drones,” the SBU added, claiming the Kremlin's troops utilize chemical weapons to force Ukrainian soldiers to come out of their trenches and face direct fire.
The United Kingdom sanctioned Kirillov for the use of chemical weapons in Ukraine in October. Besides using banned munitions, Kirillov also regularly spread disinformation about the U.S. and Ukraine preparing to use contaminated battle mosquitos against adversaries.
“Since the begin
A few hours be
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Nightly Number
MAGA GOP AGAIN JEOPARDIZE GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN!
Over $100 billion
The amount of emergency aid for disaster relief in the bipartisan deal that will push the government funding deadline to March 14, according to House Republicans briefed on the plan.
Speaker Mike Johnson said text of the bill could be released Tuesday, and he is not promising to allow lawmakers a full 72 hours to review the measure ahead of passage, according to two people who attended the closed-door meeting.
If the House passes the package toward the end of the week, it will land in the Senate just ahead of the Friday night government shutdown deadline. On that side of the Capitol, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said negotiations are still ongoing.
Johnson: Bipartisan funding bill includes disaster relief
"Obviously we’re getting closer to the Dec. 20 deadline, so time is of the essence for Republicans to reach an agreement with us that we can act on quickly," he said Tuesday morning.
While a brief funding lapse is still possible, an agreement to fast-track final passage in the Senate is likely since lawmakers are eager to leave town for the holidays.
The inclusion of a policy that would approve increased ethanol sales is a major win for Republicans in corn states, and a large group of GOP senators strongly backed the move, helping Midwest Republicans in the House push the measure into the package. But many House conservatives, who had urged Johnson to forgo the policy and overwhelmingly oppose ethanol subsidies, are livid about its inclusion.
RADAR SWEEP
GREEN SKIING — As the world grapples with climate change, ski resorts countries are investing in a green alternative — dry slope skiing. A ski resort that opened in Denmark in 2019 now has a 400m-long ski piste made with a synthetic surface that imitates snow, drawing tens of thousands of visitors. And dry slopes elsewhere around the world are growing in popularity, with over 1,000 in 50 countries — including one in Lynchburg, Virginia. Skiing purists still prefer fresh powder that dry slopes can’t accommodate. But as there’s less snow the world over and weather patterns become less predictable, alternatives are once again in vogue, after a short-lived brush with popularity in the UK in the 1970s. For the BBC, Wendy Helfenbaum explores how artificial ski slopes are making a comeback thanks to climate change.
Parting Image
On this date in 1979: President Jimmy Carter offers a toast to British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher during a State dinner in honor of Thatcher at the White House. | Dennis Cook/AP
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A message from The Campaign for Sustainable Rx Pricing:
Big Pharma’s patent abuse drives up drug prices and blocks competition – costing patients and the U.S. health care system billions. Patent thickets protect profits, not innovation, and extend monopolies on blockbuster drugs while millions of Americans struggle to afford their medications. This year, the Senate unanimously passed Cornyn-Blumenthal, a bipartisan solution to curb these anti-competitive tactics. Time is running out – Congress must pass Cornyn-Blumenthal and deliver relief to patients before it’s too late. Learn more.
"As the disastrous impacts of increased fossil fuel development become more and more obvious here and around the globe," said one campaigner, "the notion of expanded LNG exports should be dismissed out of hand."
"Behind these eye-popping budget numbers are millions of real people who will see health coverage, food assistance, and other forms of support taken away," said the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
"Surely you would agree that the American people deserve to know whether a former president—and a current candidate for president—took an illegal campaign contribution from a brutal foreign dictator."
"What's at stake is we are reverting back to a system where a person's financial ability to be able to pay will determine their ability to be healthy."
"Apartheid Israel is targeting Gaza and the West Bank simultaneously, as part of an overall process of elimination, replacement, and territorial expansion," said United Nations special rapporteur Francesca Albanese.
By Jake Johnson
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