'Disturbing new threat' from Trump admin as lawmakers brace for oil power grab: analyst
Source: Raw Story · Bias: Far Left
Summary
Donald Trump's administration has quietly restarted an oil pipeline system in California, ignoring state law and court orders in the process.The 122-mile onshore pipeline ships oil from three offshore platforms off Santa Barbara. But the shutdown on said line has been in effect since 2015 following a catastrophic spill of 450,000 gallons of oil. The spill caused chaos across 150 miles of California's coast, and despite the damage, Trump's team has moved to reopen the pipe. The president invoked the Defense Production Act to restart the pipe, according to The Hill opinion columnist Talia Nimmer. She wrote, "Sure, Trump and his cronies love to bully California, but it would be a mistake to think this will end with the Golden State. The administration set a dangerous precedent that could hamper any state’s ability to manage and protect its environment and public safety."Not only is Trump’s order unprecedented, it’s also illegal. The White House needs a legitimate reason to invoke the wartime emergency law, and this isn’t one. I believe a court will see through the administration’s paper-thin national and economic security justifications for greenlighting this unsafe and legally barred project."Though Trump may currently be getting away with the re-opening project, other state lawmakers are now bracing for potential changes to their pipeline rulings, Nimmer claimed. "Lawmakers in Florida, South Carolina, Virginia, Alaska and other coastal states have voiced skepticism — and sometimes outright opposition — to the “drill, baby, drill” approach to offshore oil and gas expansion off their shores. "Trump’s executive order suggests that opposition can be swept aside whenever the White House decides a pet project needs some help."We’re inundated by the litany of illegal, offensive and unprecedented actions taken by this administration. But Trump’s California pipeline order represents a disturbing new threat."If states are stripped of their ability to govern, regulate and make laws protecting their own residents, what will stop a power-hungry and corrupt White House from greenlighting destructive and unwanted projects in any community in America?"
Related Coverage
- Wannabe influencer busted for pelting sleeping homeless victims with ‘high-powered’ water gun (Right — New York Post)
- Trump, ballot seizures and a ‘declaration’: Gavin Newsom teases tiresome July 4 address to the state (Right — New York Post)
- 'Not mentally well': MAGA suspects Trump sabotaged by liberals armed with weather machines (Far Left — Raw Story)
- Business Leader Calls on New York City to Resist Mamdani (Far Right — The Gateway Pundit)
- ‘The second-most good-looking president’: Trump entertains on Usha Vance’s program (Far Right — WorldNetDaily)
- President Trump Reads “Presidents Play” (Far Right — The Last Refuge)
- Melania gives Congress private deadline as she works around Trump's team: report (Far Left — Raw Story)
- Trump announces pardons for pollution violators prosecuted for "fixing their car" (Center — Politics - CBSNews.com)
Daily Analysis
Read the full Parallax Pulse for April 4, 2026 — an AI-powered analysis of how Left and Right media covered the biggest stories this day.
More Headlines From April 4, 2026
- Trump vows US will strike Iran’s power plants, bridges if Strait of Hormuz is not reopened (Right)
- Iran Says Iraqi Ships Are Allowed to Use Strait of Hormuz (Center)
- What we know so far about the US fighter jet shot down over Iran (Center)
- BREAKING: “Tuesday, 8:00 P.M. Eastern Time!” — Trump Drops FINAL STRIKE DEADLINE as Iran Faces ‘Power Plant Day’ Reckoning (Far Right)
- Missing U.S. crew member from downed fighter jet rescued in Iran, sources say (Center)







