'Disturbing new threat' from Trump admin as lawmakers brace for oil power grab: analyst

Donald Trump's administration has quietly restarted an oil pipeline system in California, ignoring state law and court orders in the process.

The 122-mile onshore pipeline ships oil from three offshore platforms off Santa Barbara. But the shutdown on said line has been in effect since 2015 following a catastrophic spill of 450,000 gallons of oil. The spill caused chaos across 150 miles of California's coast, and despite the damage, Trump's team has moved to reopen the pipe.

The president invoked the Defense Production Act to restart the pipe, according to The Hill opinion columnist Talia Nimmer. She wrote, "Sure, Trump and his cronies love to bully California, but it would be a mistake to think this will end with the Golden State. The administration set a dangerous precedent that could hamper any state’s ability to manage and protect its environment and public safety.

"Not only is Trump’s order unprecedented, it’s also illegal. The White House needs a legitimate reason to invoke the wartime emergency law, and this isn’t one. I believe a court will see through the administration’s paper-thin national and economic security justifications for greenlighting this unsafe and legally barred project."

Though Trump may currently be getting away with the re-opening project, other state lawmakers are now bracing for potential changes to their pipeline rulings, Nimmer claimed.

"Lawmakers in Florida, South Carolina, Virginia, Alaska and other coastal states have voiced skepticism — and sometimes outright opposition — to the “drill, baby, drill” approach to offshore oil and gas expansion off their shores.

"Trump’s executive order suggests that opposition can be swept aside whenever the White House decides a pet project needs some help.

"We’re inundated by the litany of illegal, offensive and unprecedented actions taken by this administration. But Trump’s California pipeline order represents a disturbing new threat.

"If states are stripped of their ability to govern, regulate and make laws protecting their own residents, what will stop a power-hungry and corrupt White House from greenlighting destructive and unwanted projects in any community in America?"