A group of Congressional Ranking Members has sent a letter to the Trump Administration seeking answers about the recent decision to halt all large-scale offshore wind projects in the United States. The signatories include Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Ranking Member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee; Representative Jared Huffman (D-Calif.), Ranking Member of the House Natural Resources Committee; Representative Adam Smith, Ranking Member of the House Armed Services Committee; and Representative Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-N.J.), Ranking Member of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
The lawmakers addressed their letter to Secretary Doug Burgum of the Department of the Interior and Secretary Pete Hegseth of the Department of Defense. They are requesting a classified briefing on what they describe as a sudden pause in offshore wind development, including projects that are already under construction.
According to their letter, “As Ranking Members of the Committees of jurisdiction with significant concerns about the impacts of this pause, we request a classified briefing on this latest action by the administration to stop offshore wind development. The briefing should include, at minimum, an explanation of the new national security ‘risks’ information on the anticipated length of the ongoing pause. Please provide us with three dates and times for a briefing by Thursday, January 22, 2026.”
The Trump Administration has stated that its decision is based on recently completed classified reports that cite national security concerns. However, according to project developers and federal agencies involved in prior reviews, these projects had previously undergone extensive coordination with defense authorities before receiving permits.
The letter highlights that “the pause affects projects that, together, would generate enough electricity to power almost 2.7 million homes.” It also notes statements from Dominion Energy regarding potential threats to grid reliability and job losses if projects like Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind are stopped: "stopping CVOW for any length of time will threaten grid reliability for some of the nation's most important war fighting, AI, and civilian assets. It will also lead to energy inflation and threaten thousands of jobs."
Following public criticism from Secretary Burgum—who called offshore wind a “scam” and raised additional concerns about wildlife and energy prices—the issue has drawn legal challenges from several affected project developers. On January 13th, a federal judge granted Revolution Wind’s request for an injunction allowing construction to resume while litigation continues.
Federal agencies previously concluded that site-specific stipulations could mitigate national security impacts related to these projects. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management noted in its Record of Decision for Revolution Wind that “the DOD concluded that site-specific stipulations, designed in consultation with DOD, could mitigate the impact...and that...impacts would be negligible and avoidable.” A Federal Interagency Working Group also found radar interference mitigation techniques allowed federal agencies to continue operations without significant impacts.
ISO New England has warned that delays in bringing new generating resources online could increase costs and risk reliability for regional consumers while affecting economic growth.
The Congressional leaders have asked for three possible dates for a classified briefing by January 22nd.
