Trump to host ‘Clean Beautiful Coal’ event, calls it America’s most reliable energy

President Donald Trump is hosting an event at the White House Wednesday to tout how “Clean Beautiful Coal,” he says, is America’s most reliable and affordable energy source.

The president will be joined by Energy Secretary Chris Wright, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin and Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum for Wednesday’s event, which is set to begin at 4:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time in the White House’s East Room.

The White House told Fox News Digital Tuesday that a number of governors and members of Congress were also invited to attend the event. 

“Beautiful, clean coal is critical to ensuring American families and businesses have the energy they need, while simultaneously driving down electricity costs across the country,” White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers told Fox News Digital. “President Trump’s commonsense approach is unleashing America’s most reliable and affordable energy source, saving thousands of good-paying jobs, and turning the page on Joe Biden’s energy crisis.” 

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The event is set to highlight how coal is a “reliable and affordable energy source that keeps the lights on during times of peak demand,” the White House said.

The president is set to sign the “Strengthen the United States National Defense with America’s Beautiful Clean Coal Power Generation Fleet” executive order Wednesday during the event — a new initiative for the Department of War to purchase electricity from coal-powered plants.

That order directs Secretary of War Pete Hegseth to enter into power purchasing agreements with coal-fired power plants to ensure that the Department of War has reliable power to strengthen the U.S. grid.

Also during the event, the president will announce that the Department of Energy will award funds to five coal plants to recommission and upgrade facilities in West Virginia, Ohio, North Carolina and Kentucky. 

A White House official told Fox News Digital that will be the first of “many more announcements” related to awarding funds to coal plants across the nation.

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“Since the President has returned to office his relentless support for the coal industry has been felt,” a White House official told Fox News Digital. “Coal production is up, new mines have been (opened), existing mines are being expanded, coal plants are continuing to run, and NEDC is working with a few companies to help build new coal generation units — which hasn’t happened since 2013.”

The official pointed to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, which logged that during the first two quarters of 2025, an additional 12.2 million tons of coal were produced than in the first two quarters of 2024, representing a 5% increase year-over-year.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt previewed the event, saying the president “will discuss how Clean Beautiful Coal is not only keeping the lights on but also driving down the cost of electricity across our country.”

Also during the event, the Washington Coal Club is set to name Trump the “Undisputed Champion of Coal.”

The event comes after the Trump administration, in January, reinstated the National Coal Council, comprised of dozens of stakeholders from energy firms, utilities, governmental and tribal interests, saying that no industry affects Americans’ lives more.

The council is now chaired by Peabody Energy CEO Jim Grech and Core Natural Resources Chairman Jimmy Brock. The council cut its was reinstated four years after then-President Joe Biden dissolved the decades-old consortium.

It also comes after the Energy Department announced $625 million would be put toward reinvigorating the U.S. coal industry in response to Trump’s executive order calling for such, and another directive to “strengthen the reliability and security of the U.S. energy grid.”

Wright’s office said in a release that the administration has saved more than 15GW of coal-powered electricity, in part through relaunching the council.

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In July 2025, a DOE analysis found that the loss of coal-fired power plants would make grid reliability unsustainable, while also finding that 100GW more peak-hour supply is needed by 2030.

Fox News’ Charles Creitz contributed to this report.