Trump’s proposal could run afoul of a federal law requiring environmental reviews of all major infrastructure projects.
In a Truth Social post on Tuesday, president-elect Donald Trump suggested that he would fast-track and approve nearly any permit request made to the U.S. government if a person or corporation made a $1 billion “investment” in the treasury.
“Any person or company investing ONE BILLION DOLLARS, OR MORE, in the United States of America, will receive fully expedited approvals and permits, including, but in no way limited to, all Environmental approvals,” Trump wrote. “GET READY TO ROCK!!!”
The details of Trump’s plan to allow people and companies to bribe the government, including whether any limits would exist at all, were not made immediately clear. His reference to “environmental approvals” — and his past policy of “drill, baby, drill” — suggests, however, that he would be willing to approve permits for companies to use federal lands and to expand oil and other fossil fuel sites.
Elon Musk, the wealthiest person in the world, who is set to lead a supposed “government efficiency” effort within the Trump administration, heralded the idea in a three-word post on his social media site X. “This is awesome,” Musk wrote, sharing a screenshot of Trump’s Truth Social post.
Musk also included an emoji of a space rocket in his post, hinting that he would likely use a billion dollar bribe to the government — currently, around 0.27 percent of his total net worth — to expedite permits for his SpaceX company.
Trump’s plan would likely run afoul of federal law. The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requires all federal agencies to conduct environmental reviews before approving infrastructure and/or energy production projects, and it’s unclear how Trump’s scheme could expedite that process short of Congress passing a new law.
However, on the same day Trump made his post, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments about NEPA, including on whether agencies must consider indirect environmental impacts of projects being proposed to the federal government. It’s possible — though highly unlikely — that the court’s ruling on that case could somehow allow for a policy like the one Trump is promoting.
In response to Trump’s post, Mahyar Sorour, director for Beyond Fossil Fuels Policy at the Sierra Club, said the environmentalist organization would oppose any scheme to allow corporations to bribe the government.
“Corporate polluters cannot bribe their way to endangering our communities and our clean air and water,” Sorour said in a statement.
“We will keep fighting to defend our bedrock environmental protections and ensure they apply to everyone, not just those who can’t afford Trump’s bribe,” she added.
