US agencies to continue some fossil fuel work during shutdown

Maintaining workers in those areas is aimed at addressing the national energy emergency President Donald Trump declared when he took office in January, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management plan posted by the Interior Department said. Energy leasing and permitting was not exempt in a shutdown plan BLM published in 2023. "In order to protect human life and federal property and address the National Energy Emergency, BLM staff responsible for processing oil & gas permits/leases, coal energy leases, and other energy and mineral resources necessary for energy production will be excepted or excepted on call, to the extent such plans are necessary to protect human life and federal property," the plan said.