Secretary Doug Burgum, the 55th U.S. Secretary of the Interior and chairman of the National Energy Dominance Council, said in a social media post that the Biden administration had imposed a “ban” on liquefied natural gas (LNG) export facilities a year earlier and that the United States is now the world’s largest LNG exporter.

A year ago, there was a Biden ban on LNG export facilities.

Today, the U.S. is the number one exporter in the WORLD!

— Secretary Doug Burgum (@SecretaryBurgum) February 15, 2026

Burgum’s reference to a “ban” relates to a policy announced by the Biden administration in January 2024, when the U.S. Department of Energy paused approvals of new permits to export LNG to countries without free trade agreements while it reviewed environmental, economic, and national security impacts. The White House and DOE described the action as a temporary review process rather than a permanent prohibition on LNG exports. Existing export terminals continued shipping LNG, and previously approved projects remained operational.

Several lawmakers and industry groups criticized the pause, describing it as a “ban,” but regulatory analyses noted it applied only to new export authorizations and did not restrict shipments from existing facilities.

Burgum’s second claim, that the United States is the world’s largest LNG exporter, is accurate but requires context. The United States became the world’s top LNG exporter in 2023, after several large export terminals that had been approved in previous years began operating at full capacity. EIA data shows that the United States retained the number-one position through 2024, surpassing Australia and Qatar in export volume.

In 2022, the United States was the largest LNG exporter during the first half of the year, according to the EIA, though industry data for the full year showed Australia slightly ahead, with the U.S. and Qatar close behind. Demand from Europe rose sharply following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, driving U.S. LNG exports under long-term contracts and spot-market sales.

The Biden administration’s 2024 pause on new LNG permits did not change the United States’ ranking. Exports continued from existing terminals, and the country maintained its position as the world’s largest LNG exporter during both 2023 and 2024.

Burgum’s post highlights the growth of U.S. LNG exports and criticizes the permit pause, but fact-checking shows that the “ban” characterization is misleading and that the United States had already become the top LNG exporter under the Biden administration before the policy pause.