\n<\/p>\n
As energy prices for US households soar nationwide, Democratic and progressive lawmakers are calling on the energy department to end its plan to double exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG).<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Trump administration\u2019s LNG export policies are not putting America first: they have jacked up utility prices for families, leaving many Americans struggling with the cost of heating their homes this winter,\u201d reads a letter to the energy secretary, Chris Wright, sent the Democratic senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Independent senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont and seven others.<\/p>\n
Exports of LNG \u2013 methane gas that is cooled and turned into a liquid for easier long-distance transport \u2013 boomed under former president Joe Biden. Since Trump re-entered office last January, they have soared even higher, growing 26% in 2025 with an additional 8% increase expected this year, according to federal data.<\/p>\n
Last year, the US became the first country in history to export more than 100m metric tons of the fuel in a single year, a fact the White House has touted with pride.<\/p>\n
Trump officials have repeatedly stated their desire to continue increasing LNG exports. Last fall, Wright declared that he wants to \u201cdouble the natural gas exports\u201d, the letter notes.<\/p>\n
<\/span>The energy secretary, Chris Wright, addresses journalists during the IEA ministerial meeting at the OECD in Paris, France, on 18 February.<\/span> Photograph: Yoan Valat\/EPA<\/p>\n That increase is at odds with Trump\u2019s repeated pledges to slash Americans\u2019 utility bills, the lawmakers write in the letter, sent Wednesday night. In a June report, the senators note, the Energy Information Administration found that 2025\u2019s higher natural gas prices, and projected increases in 2026, \u201care the result of strong export growth that persistently outpaces US natural gas production\u201d. Utilities and state regulators have confirmed that increased exports have pushed up bills, the letter also says.<\/p>\n \u201cThe mechanism is simple supply and demand: increased exports leave less natural gas available for domestic consumers, increasing prices for residential ratepayers,\u201d reads the letter, which was also signed by Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island, Senator Ed Markey of Massachusetts, Senator Jeff Merkley of Oregon, Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island, Senator Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, and Senator Peter Welch of Vermont.<\/p>\n The Guardian has contacted the energy department for comment.<\/p>\n The missive comes as polls show Americans are increasingly concerned about rising utility costs. Though Trump repeatedly promised to halve electricity costs within his first year back in office, the average US household paid nearly 6.7% more for electricity in 2025 than the year before, according to an analysis by the Guardian last month.<\/p>\n As LNG exports have harmed ordinary Americans, they have benefited the fossil fuel industry, which poured record sums into Trump\u2019s presidential campaign, the senators note. For instance, the top two US LNG exporters, Cheniere Energy and Venture Global, both significantly increased their earnings last year, they write.<\/p>\n Executives from both companies donated to the president\u2019s re-election efforts and attended a fundraiser where he encouraged fossil fuel industry donations and reportedly asked for $1bn in support for his campaign.<\/p>\n \u201cWe urge you to reconsider the administration\u2019s stance on LNG exports and instead take action to reduce consumers\u2019 utility bills,\u201d the senators write, calling on Wright to provide a \u201cwritten response detailing your commitment to do so\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" As energy prices for US households soar nationwide, Democratic and progressive lawmakers are calling on the energy department to end its plan to double exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG). \u201cThe Trump administration\u2019s LNG export policies are not putting America first: they have jacked up utility prices for families, leaving many Americans struggling with the<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":45356,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[50],"tags":[794,581,1389,4571,611,8158,867,1436,269,895,81,1763],"class_list":{"0":"post-45355","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-environment","8":"tag-administration","9":"tag-democrats","10":"tag-double","11":"tag-dropping","12":"tag-energy","13":"tag-exports","14":"tag-gas","15":"tag-plan","16":"tag-prices","17":"tag-soar","18":"tag-trump","19":"tag-urge"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45355","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=45355"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45355\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/45356"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=45355"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=45355"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=45355"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}