"The government shutdown isn’t stopping the Trump administration from advancing its policy priorities, especially when it comes to fossil fuels.
When it announced its contingency plans for the shutdown, the Bureau of Land Management said staff members in charge of processing leases and permits for oil and gas, leases for coal or “other energy and mineral resources necessary for energy production” would still have to work.
Since that time, it has continued to approve drilling permits. Between Oct. 1 and Wednesday, the bureau approved 474 permits to drill on public lands.
That figure is fairly in line with previous months when the government was open, with 494 permits approved in August and 505 in September."
Source: The Hill, 10/31/2025
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