Senator Markey Blasts Trump Administration for Sacrificing Arctic Refuge to Big Oil Billionaires

Boston (October 23, 2025) - Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), member of the Environment and Public Works Committee, released the following statement after the Trump administration announced that it will open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in America's Arctic-the nation's largest national wildlife refuge-to oil and gas drilling.

"The Trump administration's decision to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas drilling is a horrifyingly bad trade for the American people-the destruction of an invaluable wilderness that sustains Arctic Indigenous People and a unique ecosystem, in exchange for pennies in royalty payments and profits for Big Oil," said Senator Markey. "This unconscionable, corrupt contract is exactly what Big Oil and Big Gas were dreaming of when they handed over millions of dollars in campaign contributions to Donald Trump. Their donations secured a blank check to pollute and profit at the expense of the wildlife and the Alaska Natives who depend upon the Refuge, as well as our global climate. This decision is not about energy dominance-it's about donor dominance. The Trump administration must immediately reverse its shortsighted decision. The Arctic Refuge is not for sale."

Senator Markey has long been a champion for protecting the Arctic. In August, Senator Markey and Representative Jared Huffman (CA-02), Ranking Member of the Natural Resources Committee, led more than two dozen Democratic colleagues in writing to the Department of the Interior condemning the Trump administration's move to eliminate protections for the National Petroleum Reserve, one of the most ecologically sensitive and culturally important regions in America's Arctic. In April, Senator Markey and Representative Huffman reintroduced the Arctic Refuge Protection Act, legislation that would restore critical protections to the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge by designating the Coastal Plain ecosystem as wilderness under the National Wilderness Preservation System. This legislation would permanently halt any new oil and gas leasing, exploration, development, and drilling on the Coastal Plain, and would safeguard the subsistence rights of the Arctic Indigenous Peoples who depend upon the Arctic Refuge.

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