"I'm extending the moratorium to North Carolina and Virginia,"
Trump said to applause at a campaign rally in Newport News,
Virginia.
The Trump administration, which has worked to expand U.S. oil
and gas drilling and roll back Obama-era rules on pollution from
fossil fuels, originally wanted to expand offshore drilling off
many of America's coasts, including Florida.
But proposals for drilling off Florida prompted fierce
opposition from tourism, real estate, and environmental
interests.
The latest decision could help Republican U.S. Senator Thom
Tillis of North Carolina, who is trailing his Democratic
challenger, former state senator Cal Cunningham, ahead of the
Nov. 3 elections.
(Reporting by Jeff Masson in Newpoer News, Virginia, and Valerie
Volcovici in Washington; Writing by Mohammad Zargham; Editing by
Sandra Maler)
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