One Trump Policy Saved Lives During Harsh Winter Storms

Trump’s reversal of Biden’s coal plant closures potentially prevented a nationwide blackout catastrophe during a brutal winter storm that gripped 230 million Americans.

Story Snapshot

Energy Secretary Chris Wright’s emergency orders kept five coal plants online, preserving 17 gigawatts of power amid grid strain.
Fossil fuels supplied 90% of energy, with renewables at just 10%, averting blackouts across 33 states.
Trump approved disaster aid for 12 states post-storm, contrasting with prior failures like 2021’s deadly Winter Storm Uri.
Critics claim higher bills and pollution, but facts show no mass outages or deaths this time.

Storm Strikes with Unprecedented Force

A massive snowstorm battered 33 states from Alabama to Vermont over January 24-26, 2026, affecting 230 million people. Driven by a disrupted polar vortex and climate-amplified moisture, grids strained under polar cold. Unlike Texas’s 2021 Uri storm that killed 246 with gas failures, this event saw no widespread blackouts. Trump administration preparations proved decisive. Energy Secretary Chris Wright activated 35 gigawatts of backups from data centers and stores. Fossil fuels dominated reliability.

Trump Administration Reverses Biden Policies

Pre-storm, the Trump team identified risks from Biden-era mandates closing five coal plants and 17 gigawatts of capacity by 2030. Immediate post-inauguration actions in January 2025 retained this power amid surging data center demands. Wright issued orders over the weekend to Tuesday, allowing plants to exceed EPA emission limits. Coal, natural gas, and oil carried the load while wind and solar faltered at 10%. This executive bypass of regulations favored reliability over green mandates.

Wright’s Orders Secure the Grid

Chris Wright prioritized “reliable energy,” declaring previous policies risked lives. DOE measures ensured plants operated beyond ceilings, preventing the 100-fold blackout risk warned by experts. Trump approved disaster declarations for 12 states by January 28, aiding recovery without catastrophe. Fossil utilities benefited from relaxed rules, underscoring executive power over EPA constraints. Common sense affirms dependable baseload power trumps intermittent sources in crises, aligning with conservative energy independence values.

No mass casualties emerged, a stark contrast to Uri’s toll. Grids held firm.

Impacts and Partisan Divide Emerge

Short-term, averted blackouts preserved lives and infrastructure across affected regions. Electricity bills rose 9.6%, gas by $124, hitting low-income families amid LIHEAP cuts. Natural gas prices spiked 25-60% pre-storm due to LNG exports tightening supply. Critics from Public Citizen and Climate Power decry canceled clean projects powering 13.5 million homes and diesel pollution from backups. Facts support fossil reliability here; long-term climate claims lack direct proof of storm causation.

Trump's Energy Policies Saved Lives During Harsh Winter Storms https://t.co/UI64lghn3f "Had Biden's energy subtraction policies remained, the grid would have been vulnerable and American lives would have been increasingly at risk."

— AtomBob (@atombob357) January 30, 2026

Trump questioned global warming on social media amid the freeze, fueling debate. FEMA, strained by staff cuts, managed multi-state response. Economic heating costs challenged promises to halve bills, yet no Uri-scale deaths validate policy strength. Broader fossil resurgence stalls renewables like $7B Solar for All.