A federal judge blocked the Biden administration’s freeze on new liquid natural gas export permits on Monday after 16 Republican attorneys general sued the administration over the policy.
U.S. District Judge James Cain ruled that the Biden administration had not followed precedent or considered national security impacts when it announced a ban on new natural gas permits earlier this year, issuing an injunction against the policy. Additionally, he ruled that the freeze would harm the states that sued after the policy was announced in January.
The freeze meant that the Department of Energy would not issue any new permits while it updated the authorization process. According to the Biden administration, the freeze applied to countries that the United States did not have free trade agreements with, and “indefinitely” paused natural gas exports to those countries.
“It appears…
