Trump administration takes steps to expand Arctic drilling, including in contentious wildlife refuge

The Trump administration formally announced Thursday that it planned to expand drilling in the Arctic, including in the contentious Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. 

The Interior Department said that it would take steps toward opening up the entire 1.56 million-acre Coastal Plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas drilling. 

Drilling in the refuge was restricted under the Biden administration, and amid the restrictions oil companies decided against pursuing fossil fuels there.