Eric S. Laschever Share: On June 15, 2020, Dr. Neil Jacobs, Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Environmental Observation and Prediction, acting for Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, overruled North Carolina’s and South Carolina’s determinations under the Coastal Zone Management Act (CZMA), 16 U.S.C. §§ 1451–1466, that seismic exploration for oil and gas on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) was inconsistent with their federally approved Coastal Management Programs. Decision & Findings by U.S. Under Sec’y of Com. for Oceans & Atmosphere in the Consistency Appeal of WesternGeco from an Objection by the State of N.C. (June 15, 2020) (hereafter N.C. Findings & Decision); Decision and Findings by U.S. Under Sec’y of Com. for Oceans & Atmosphere in the Consistency Appeal of WesternGeco from an Objection by the State of S.C. (June 15, 2020) (hereafter S.C. Findings & Decision). These detailed Commerce decisions emphasized the importance of survey data for achieving energy independence and represented an important step to opening up offshore areas that have been effectively off limits for offshore oil and gas exploration since the late 1980s. Three months after the decisions—in a fourth-quarter Hail Mary pass to shore up his chances in Florida—candidate Trump withdrew much of the same offshore waters from OCS leasing until 2032. This withdrawal undercut Commerce’s central argument for proceeding with seismic exploration. By early October, exploration appeared all but dead as Judge Richard Gergel dismissed litigation challenging the decisions under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), and National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) as moot because the exploration approvals were due to expire. Taken together, the Commerce decisions, the executive withdrawal, and the judicial dismissal illustrate the controversy and complexity of expanding OCS oil and gas development into areas for which popular support is absent. This article explores these decisions within the context of OCS development and the Trump administration’s energy policy generally, and its offshore agenda specifically.