Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, announced on April 13 the launch of an investigation into the Trump Administration’s decision to pay nearly $1 billion to TotalEnergies in exchange for abandoning two offshore wind leases and committing to reinvest those funds into oil and gas projects.
The issue centers around a March 23 agreement between the U.S. Department of the Interior and TotalEnergies. Under this deal, the government would pay Total $928 million for relinquishing its offshore wind leases off New York and North Carolina—projects that were expected to provide clean power for over one million homes.
In a letter addressed to TotalEnergies CEO Patrick Pouyanné, Whitehouse said, “After losing repeatedly in federal court, it appears that President Trump has turned to another method to kill offshore wind: pay companies like yours to walk away.” He also raised legal concerns about using funds from the Department of Justice’s Judgement Fund. “[T]he agreement between DOI and Total appears to suffer from a lack of legally available or appropriated funding... Established in statute, the Fund exists to pay final judgements, awards, and settlements arising out of legal or administrative actions against the federal government,” Whitehouse wrote. He added there was no evidence that Total had filed any claim against any U.S. agency.
Whitehouse further warned about possible violations of the Antideficiency Act: “No relevant bureau or office within DOI has sufficient funds to pay Total the nearly $1 billion it has been promised,” he continued. Despite suggestions from company leadership that previous payments by Total were set aside for such purposes, Whitehouse noted these funds were not held separately for offshore wind lessees generally. The senator also highlighted contradictions between statements made by Pouyanné at a May 2025 shareholders’ meeting regarding commitment to low-carbon energies versus his recent statement supporting investment in U.S. oil and gas as "a more efficient use of capital." In his letter's conclusion, Whitehouse said: “No matter how much President Trump and his officials may claim that offshore wind is more expensive and less reliable than fossil fuel energy, those claims are simply false... It is unfortunate that an energy company like Total that had previously demonstrated a material commitment to the energy transition has now decided to capitulate to a bully.”
Whitehouse requested documents from TotalEnergies by April 23 including copies of agreements related materials about lawsuits or negotiations with government agencies involved.
According to the official website, Shelley Moore Capito chairs the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee with members including Kevin Cramer and Cynthia Lummis; its base is located in the Senate Dirksen Office Building where it supports hearings on environmental quality issues nationwide through subcommittees focused on clean air, water resources, transportation infrastructure among others; it oversees programs balancing conservation with national needs while influencing policy on environmental regulations across America.
