US EditionCan Trump Actually Bring Back the Coal Industry?
- President Donald Trump signed executive orders in early 2025 aiming to revive the U.S. Coal industry by expanding mining on federal lands and loosening regulations.
- These measures address the long-term drop in coal jobs driven primarily by economic competition from more affordable and cleaner alternatives, rather than solely by regulatory actions.
- The coal industry currently employs about 11,000 workers compared to over 130,000 in the 1950s, while concerns grow over deteriorating mine safety and a resurgence of black lung disease.
- Health programs protecting miners face cuts and the suspension of the Coal Workers' Health Surveillance Program leaves hundreds of X-rays unanalyzed, increasing risks of respiratory illness and death.
- While supporters hope Trump's policies will boost coal and protect miners, experts warn market trends and health risks make coal's recovery uncertain and possibly unsustainable.
24 Articles
24 Articles
100 days in, does Trump still ‘dig’ coal?
Jeffrey Willig doesn’t mine coal anymore. For nine years he worked underground, most recently for a company called Blackjewel, which laid off around 1,700 workers in June of 2019 without paying them. Robbed of their final paycheck, Willig and the others set up camp and blocked the company’s last trainload of “black gold” from leaving Harlan County, Kentucky, beginning what would be months of protest. They called on Democrats and Republicans alik…
OP-ED: Trump is ending the war on coal. He's saving Kentucky jobs and our economy
America needs coal. For generations, our nation has tapped into coal’s unparalleled benefits as an affordable and reliable energy source to power us to greatness. Coal miners continue to fuel everything from the cutting-edge manufacturing jobs and data centers of…
Progressive.org
Progressive HubLet’s Stop Using the Fuels of the Past
Trump isn't reviving the coal industry to help people in West Virginia. But protecting federal clean energy investments would.
How will Trump’s effort to revitalize coal play out in the nation’s most productive coal fields?
This article originally appeared on Inside Climate News, a nonprofit, non-partisan news organization that covers climate, energy and the environment. Sign up for their newsletter here. On a cool morning in late February, Mark Fix was up before the sun to watch the Tongue River on his ranch in southeast Montana. He was concerned that a breaching ice dam could put his cattle and property in the path of rushing water carrying plates of ice the size…
Coverage Details
Bias Distribution
- 57% of the sources lean Left
To view factuality data please Upgrade to Premium
Ownership
To view ownership data please Upgrade to Vantage
