Former President Joe Biden spent much of his four years in office restricting domestic energy production, and now he appears to be celebrating it.
During an appearance on Jay Leno’s Garage, Biden openly boasted about using presidential authority to shut down vast portions of America’s offshore drilling opportunities. The comments came as Biden and comedian Jay Leno cruised down the highway in a vintage automobile, a scene that struck many critics as a perfect example of elite hypocrisy.
“The other thing I was able to do, I made sure there could be no oil drilling off the East Coast, the West Coast and 150 miles off the Gulf of Mexico,” Biden told Leno during the segment.
The remarks highlighted a record that has frustrated energy producers, workers, and consumers for years.
In January 2025, during one of his final actions before leaving office, Biden permanently banned offshore oil and gas drilling across approximately 625 million acres of U.S. coastal waters. The sweeping order covered enormous sections of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans as well as portions of the Gulf of Mexico.
That move came after the administration blocked oil drilling on roughly 10 million acres in Alaska in 2023, another decision that drew sharp criticism from supporters of domestic energy development.
Biden’s war on American energy actually began on his very first day in office. Within hours of being sworn in, he revoked permits for the Keystone XL Pipeline, effectively killing a project that had been years in development and was expected to strengthen North American energy infrastructure.
Supporters of Biden’s policies argued that the measures were necessary to address climate concerns. Critics, however, pointed out that restricting domestic production does not eliminate demand for oil and gas. Americans still drive cars, heat homes, and rely on products manufactured using petroleum. The difference is that reduced domestic production often increases reliance on foreign sources of energy.
President Trump has worked to reverse several of Biden’s energy restrictions since returning to office. Among those efforts was overturning Biden’s ban on Arctic drilling. However, legal challenges and regulatory battles continue to create obstacles for restoring access to some energy-rich regions.
What made Biden’s comments particularly striking was the setting. Here were two multimillionaires, both owners of expensive vintage automobiles known for consuming plenty of gasoline, laughing and chatting while discussing policies that limited domestic oil production.
For many Americans struggling with energy costs over the last several years, the optics were difficult to ignore.
While driving a classic car and enjoying an afternoon with Jay Leno, Biden appeared proud of decisions that dramatically restricted American energy development. Whether voters see those actions as environmental stewardship or an unprecedented federal power grab remains a matter of fierce political debate, but Biden’s own comments left little doubt that he views those policies as a major accomplishment of his presidency.
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