Trump Orders Pentagon to Purchase Coal Power, Declares Himself Undisputed Champion of Beautiful Clean Coal

President Trump signed Executive Order 14386 directing the Department of War to enter into power purchase agreements with coal-fired plants to supply electricity to military installations. At the Champion of Coal event in the East Room, Trump received the Undisputed Champion of Beautiful Clean Coal award from the Washington Coal Club and announced $175 million in DOE funding for coal plant upgrades across six states. Trump stated: Clean, beautiful coal, clean, beautiful coal. You have never had a better friend in the Oval Office than me. The order also directed the DOE to distribute funds to coal plants in West Virginia, Ohio, North Carolina, and Kentucky to keep them operational. Coal-fired plants are the largest single source of mercury pollutants in the US, and Trump had previously eased mercury emission limits from coal plants in February 2026.