Why Did Biden Approve the Willow Oil Project? Jean-Pierre: He 'Kept His Word ... Where He Can by Law' (March 16, 2023)

Four months before his administration approved the Willow oil project in Alaska, President Joe Biden told a heckler at a New York rally: “No more drilling. There is no more drilling. I haven’t formed any new drilling” [2].

Then came Willow. Asked how the White House answered climate activists who said Biden had betrayed his own goals, press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said: “Look, the President kept his word when he — when he can — where he can by law. Right? That is important to note” [1].

The video above shows the exchange from the March 16, 2023, White House briefing. Quotes are from the official transcripts published by the American Presidency Project [1][2].

”Where He Can by Law”

The reporter laid out the criticism from the left. “What is the White House’s reaction to environmental activists critical of the Biden administration’s approval of the Willow oil project? They argue that the President has undermined his own goals on climate change in approving this” [1].

Jean-Pierre said the administration’s hands were tied by old contracts. “And as the Interior Department said, some of the company’s leases are decades old, granted by prior administrations. The company has a legal right to those leases. The department’s options are limited when there are legal contracts in place,” she said [1].

She quoted a former Clinton administration official. “For example, the DOI’s Solicitor under President Clinton and law professor at US [UC] Hastings said, ‘They have lease rights, and that can’t be ignored.’ That’s a big figure on the scale in the favor of development,” Jean-Pierre said [1].

”The Most Aggressive Climate Agenda”

The reporter pressed: “And so, is it the position of the White House that there was no other option other than approving the permits for the project?” [1]

“Well, I just laid out there was — there were — those — the lega- — there was a legal right to — they had legal right to those leases. Right?” Jean-Pierre said. “And he — the President is going to do what he can under the — as the law permits” [1].

She closed both answers the same way. “Again, the President is delivering the most aggressive climate agenda in the U.S. history,” she said, and then: “This is a President who has delivered on the most aggressive climate agenda in the U.S. history. And he’s going to continue to do that” [1].

Asked about two lawsuits filed by conservation groups to stop the project, she said: “I’m not going to comment on any lawsuits at this time” [1].

”He Has the Receipts”

Later in the briefing, a reporter asked about young voters who felt betrayed by “the President greenlighting an oil drilling venture in Alaska.” “What is his message to those young voters who feel like this is a betrayal?” [1]

“This is a President that has delivered on the most aggressive climate agenda in the United States history, and he’s going to continue to do that. And he has — he has the receipts for it, right?” Jean-Pierre said [1].

She listed them. “He has conserved more land and water in the first year than any President since JFK. He has fully closed off the U.S. Arctic Ocean to new oil and gas leasing,” she said, adding that his agenda was “reducing America’s resilience on oil” [1].

”No More Drilling”

The Willow approval came after Biden’s own words at a Nov. 6, 2022, rally for New York Gov. Kathy Hochul in Bronxville. An audience member shouted at him as he finished. “No more drilling. There is no more drilling. I haven’t formed any new drilling,” Biden said [2].

The audience member shot back: “You released 5 more years of offshore drilling.” “No, I——” Biden began. “That was before I was President. We’re trying to work on that, get that done. Thank you. All right,” he said, and the event ended [2].

By the Numbers

2: lawsuits by conservation groups the reporter cited [1].
“Decades old”: how Jean-Pierre described some of the company’s Willow leases, citing the Interior Department [1].
4 months: from Biden’s “no more drilling” to the Willow approval [2][1].
May 7, 2024: the date of Biden’s rule restricting the National Petroleum Reserve, later rescinded [4].

What Happened Next

Biden tightened the screws anyway. On May 7, 2024, Biden’s Bureau of Land Management issued a rule for the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska that, according to the Federal Register, revised “the framework for designating and assuring maximum protection of Special Areas’ significant resource values” [4].

Trump unleashed Alaska. On Jan. 20, 2025, President Donald Trump signed an order titled “Unleashing Alaska’s Extraordinary Resource Potential.” “Unlocking this bounty of natural wealth will raise the prosperity of our citizens while helping to enhance our Nation’s economic and national security for generations to come,” it said [3].

The order told the Interior secretary to “rescind the cancellation of any leases within the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge” and “initiate additional leasing,” and to rescind Biden’s 2024 petroleum reserve rule [3].

The rule was erased. On Nov. 17, 2025, the Bureau of Land Management published a final rule rescinding Biden’s 2024 regulations “to restore regulatory clarity and align BLM’s implementing regulations with statutory requirements and national energy policy” [5].

For the rally where Biden told the heckler “no more drilling,” see HYGO News’ page on that night.