When Donald Trump held a rally in rural Pennsylvania last week, he hit familiar themes: immigration, his legal woes and rising prices. But he got his loudest cheers when he promised to lift Joe Biden’s ban on new natural gas exports, highlighting the unpopularity of the policy in a critical swing state.
The White House’s decision to pause approvals for new liquefied natural gas projects has angered the shale gas industry, a big employer in Pennsylvania. It has also raised concerns among local Democrats, who warn a policy designed to appeal to young climate-conscious voters could harm Biden’s campaign in a state that produces a fifth of America’s natural gas.
“I’m pretty tired of constantly worrying that somebody in Washington DC makes a decision that’s going to impact my family in Fayette county,” said Nick Staffieri, a waste management team leader at EQT Corporation, the largest natural gas producer in the US.