January 16, 2026 - Top Trump officials declared the ”war on coal is over” alongside dozens of coal executives Thursday at the National Coal Council’s first meeting since the advisory panel was scrapped for four years under the Biden administration.

“For years, the Biden Administration waged war on American coal, shutting down coal plants prematurely, decimating American communities and workers, while also driving up energy prices,” Energy Secretary Chris Wright said in a statement. “Thanks to President [Donald] Trump, the war on coal is over.”

As part of a multipronged blitz of actions aimed at reviving the nation’s beleaguered coal sector, the Trump administration last year formally reinstated the council, an advisory group focused on fossil fuels that existed for more than three decades before lapsing under the Biden administration.

Wright and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum welcomed almost 60 members to the group, including executives from the nation’s largest coal producers — Peabody and Core Natural Resources — who are now in leadership positions, and the head of groups like the National Mining Association, the American Coal Ash Association and major coal-burning utilities. Other members include Trump allies like Joe Craft, CEO of the coal behemoth Alliance Resource Partners and a frequent contributor to the president’s political ambitions.