Florida Republicans are experiencing a “rare rift” between themselves and President Donald Trump over his proposal to open up new offshore drilling sites in the Gulf of Mexico, the Hill reports.
According to the Hill, the Trump administration on Thursday proposed “to auction off the right to drill in an area that includes part of the Gulf that had been considered part of the Eastern Gulf of Mexico.” The move “represents something of a reversal for Trump, who put forward a moratorium on drilling off Florida’s coasts during his first term in office.”
In a statement to the Hill, Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis spokesperson Molly Best said the Florida governor “supports the 2020 Presidential Memorandum and urges the Department of Interior to reconsider and to conform to the 2020 Trump Administration policy.”
DeSantis’ statement comes after Sen. Ashley Moody (R-FL) on Thursday called the new maps “highly concerning.”
“The new maps released today by [Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum] and [the U.S. Department of the Interior] outlining potential new offshore oil drilling sites in the Gulf of America are highly concerning — and we will be engaging directly with the department on this issue,” Moody wrote on X, referring to the Gulf of Mexico by the president’s preferred language.
“Preserving our state’s natural beauty is deeply important to the millions who call the Sunshine State home, our visitors, and those whose livelihoods depend on tourism,” Moody added.
Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) likewise said the Florida coast “must remain off the table for oil drilling,” according to Spectrum News 13.
Florida Congressman Jimmy Patronis also asked the Trump administration to “reconsider the areas included in the drilling plans because of how he believes they could impact military operations,” Fox 10 News reports.
As the Hill reports, “It’s a rare rift between the state’s Republicans and Trump, who made the state his primary residence in 2019. While his Mar-a-Lago is situated on the state’s east coast on the Atlantic Ocean, drilling in the eastern gulf would be more likely to impact the state’s west coast.”
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