Travis Annatoyn Weighs In On Presidential Authority Under Senate Permitting Bill in Heatmap

Travis Annatoyn, Arnold & Porter Environmental counsel and former Deputy Solicitor for Energy and Mineral Resources at the U.S. Department of the Interior, was quoted in the Heatmap article, “What a President Can and Can’t Do Under the Senate Permitting Bill,” which examines how the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act of 2026 would limit a president’s ability to revoke or delay federal energy project approvals.

The article explains that the bill attempts to bar agencies from rescinding or altering permits for projects that have already obtained all required federal approvals, with limited exceptions, and would give developers a path to sue for discriminatory treatment or prolonged permitting delays. “This bill is clearly looking backwards at five to 10 years of case studies in how an executive branch can delay or revoke permits, and it is targeted at those case studies,” Travis said.

Travis also noted that the bill would not eliminate the risk of executive interference. He noted that agencies “can still inadvertently or deliberately choose to press on the limits of that prohibition, […] test it or even violate it outright,” and that developers would still bear the burden of a lengthy court challenge.

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