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OPINION — Every mission begins with trust. In World War II, the U.S. government trusted private energy producers to deliver aviation gasoline at record scale, and those companies trusted Washington to stand behind them. That compact powered victory. Breaking it now with retroactive lawsuits betrays the trust we need for the challenges ahead.
For more than a century, America’s energy sector has been a vital partner in national defense. During the Second World War, operating under direct federal command, oil and gas companies increased production twelvefold to supply high-octane fuel that carried bombers over Europe, powered the ships that stormed Normandy, and drove the tanks that liberated the continent. As the Trump administration’s Department of Justice later acknowledged, it “was a war of oil,” and American producers supplied the lion’s share. Those barrels were more than statistics. They were the lifeblood of freedom.
Today, those same companies face lawsuits for actions carried out under wartime orders. Louisiana parishes, backed by trial lawyers and supported by Gov. Jeff Landry and Attorney General Liz Murrill, are seeking billions in damages. The theory behind these cases is corrosive. It tells American industry that even if you answer the government’s call in wartime, you may still be punished in peacetime. It tells veterans and workers who built the arsenal of democracy that their sacrifice can be rewritten as a liability.
That message strikes at the heart of the compact that binds our military, our industry, and our government. It also directly undermines President Donald Trump’s second-term priorities. His executive orders link military readiness and energy dominance, making clear that abundant domestic energy is a national security imperative.
A strong domestic energy base keeps costs down for American families and ensures that the Pentagon can surge capacity without relying on foreign suppliers. Deterrence depends not only on ships and planes but also on the affordable, reliable fuel that keeps them moving.
Without trust, the supply chain breaks. If refiners hold back on capacity for fear of retroactive liability, where will the Pentagon turn for jet fuel in a crisis? If contractors doubt that obeying federal orders will later be defended in court, how can America count on its industrial base when the nation is under fire?
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A $744 million verdict in one parish case already shows how these lawsuits could drain the capital needed to expand fuel reserves. Former Joint Chiefs of Staff leaders Adm. Michael Mullen and Gen. Richard Myers warned the Court that “our national security depends on encouraging—not discouraging—such private sector assistance.” If the precedent is set against energy companies, it will not stop there. Shipyards, aerospace firms, and logistics providers could also be targeted, leaving America’s armed forces dangerously isolated.
What makes Gov. Landry’s role especially troubling is that he knows better. Once a defender of Louisiana’s energy workers, he now sides with trial lawyers against the very companies that powered both his state’s economy and America’s victories abroad. At a time when China is racing to corner global oil and mineral supplies, Russia is using gas as a weapon, and Iran is funding terror with oil revenues, Gov. Landry’s choice to undermine Louisiana’s energy base is more than short-sighted. It is a betrayal of trust in his constituents, in America’s veterans, and in the compact that has kept this nation secure.
The Supreme Court will soon decide in Chevron v. Plaquemines Parish whether lawsuits tied to wartime production will proceed in federal or state court. The answer must be federal. Only a federal forum can ensure that decisions made under federal authority are not second-guessed by local juries decades later.
America cannot afford to cripple the public-private partnerships that powered victory in the past. The stakes are too high. Louisiana’s energy workers and America’s veterans have always answered the call when the nation needed them. They deserve leaders who will stand with them – at present, Gov. Landry and Attorney General Murrill stand opposed.
Our armed forces do not run on lawsuits. They run on reliable fuel, trust, and readiness. The sacred contract between America’s industry and its defenders must not be broken.
Read more expert-driven national security insights, perspective and analysis in The Cipher Brief because National Security is Everyone’s Business.
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