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Executive capture

The Selective Shutdown: Governance by Loophole

Active manipulation
Case Dossier EXC-ENE-001
STATUS
Active manipulation
SEVERITY
High
DATE
2025-10-17
DOMAIN
Executive Capture
SUBDOMAIN
Regulatory Bias
CAPTURE VECTOR
Selective enforcement
TAGS
shutdown fossil-fuels renewable-energy interior-department epa energy-emergency
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During a government shutdown that sidelined 700,000 federal workers, the administration utilized 'carry-over funds' and emergency declarations to keep fossil fuel permitting active while explicitly halting renewable energy projects.

Summary

In October 2025, amidst a government shutdown that furloughed 700,000 employees, the Trump administration selectively exempted workers critical to the fossil fuel industry. Citing a “national energy emergency,” the Department of the Interior and the EPA continued to process drilling permits, approve mine expansions (e.g., Lisbon Valley Copper Mine), and finalize regulations increasing mercury emissions. Simultaneously, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management explicitly “ceased all renewable energy activities,” stalling wind and solar projects.

Capture Mechanism: Administrative Gerrymandering

This case demonstrates how the “deep state” is not dismantled but repurposed.

  • The Pretext: The administration invoked a January “national energy emergency” declaration to classify fossil fuel permitting as “essential work,” despite record domestic oil production.
  • The Double Standard: While fossil fuel staff worked using “carry-over funds,” renewable energy staff were furloughed, deliberately creating a regulatory bottleneck for clean energy competitors.
  • The Payoff: Environmental advocates noted that the oil and gas industry spent nearly $75 million to elect the President, suggesting the selective shutdown was a form of patronage—keeping the government “open” only for donors.

Analysis

The shutdown was weaponized as a tool of industrial policy. By keeping the “brown” government open while shutting the “green” government down, the administration used administrative procedure to pick winners and losers, accelerating the extraction of public resources while paralyzing the transition to alternatives.