Connecticut lawmakers react to latest Trump administration order on offshore wind farms
Connecticut lawmakers are calling the latest Trump administration order stopping several Northeast offshore wind farm projects an attack.
The Trump administration on Monday suspended the leases for five large-scale projects that would provide power to the grid supporting Massachusetts, New York, Virginia, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. This includes Revolution Wind, a project off the coast of Rhode Island that is expected to provide power to 350,000 homes in Rhode Island and Connecticut. Connecticut undertook the massive New London State Pier project in support of Revolution Wind back in 2019.
This is the latest attempt by the president's administration to cancel these wind projects -- of which President Trump has been a vocal opponent -- and comes just two weeks after a federal judge ruled that the administration could not cancel the projects. The administration is citing undefined "national security" issues as the reason for the cancelation.
Revolution Wind is estimated to be 80% of the way to completion.
Several Connecticut lawmakers have now voiced their disapproval and anger over Monday's decision and have vowed to fight it once again.
“This is yet another erratic, anti-business move by the Trump administration that will drive up the price of electricity in Connecticut and throughout the region," said Gov. Ned Lamont in a statement following the announcement. "At a time when my administration is working tirelessly to ensure Connecticut has a diverse energy supply and lower utility costs for families and businesses, the White House continues to be an obstacle. This project is nearing completion and providing good-paying clean energy jobs. Businesses and residents deserve economic predictability, yet with the administration’s constant starts and stops they’re left with the opposite, so the one thing the people of Connecticut can count on is that we will stand up to the Trump administration and ensure this project continues to move forward.”
Members of Connecticut's congressional delegation also weighed in.
“This latest attack on Revolution Wind is even more absurd than the first one," said Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT). "The President cites national security risks, but has not been able to prove or demonstrate that such risks even exist. I am standing with our state’s delegation to keep fighting for this project, the workers who deserve to keep their jobs, and the Connecticut consumers who can’t afford to pay more for electricity."
“The Trump Administration’s latest ‘pause’ of the Revolution Wind project is just as baseless as their previous attacks on our clean energy economy,” said Rep. John Larson. “The President has taken an axe to wind energy, solar projects, and our state’s clean hydrogen sector, putting hundreds of people out of work and saddling households across the state with even higher electricity bills. The State of Connecticut, led by Attorney General William Tong, already took him on to halt his illegal stop work order before, and we’re prepared to do it again. I worked with my colleagues on the Ways and Means Committee over the last few years to improve our power grid by investing in affordable, reliable clean energy sources – like offshore wind. We cannot afford to undo that progress because Donald Trump thinks climate change is a ‘hoax.’ This attack on Revolution Wind and Connecticut ratepayers must not stand.”
"President Trump is so determined to raise your energy prices that he is still attacking a project that is over 80 percent complete," said Rep. Rosa DeLauro in a post on X. "Revolution Wind is not a national security threat—it increases energy security and lowers costs for CT families. These absurd delays must stop."
“The issue of national security for offshore wind projects was already litigated at the federal district court level in September, when a Reagan appointed judge flatly rejected the vague claims cited in the Trump Administration’s August 22nd halt work order for the Revolution Wind project. In addition, the issue was debated and rejected in the House of Representatives when a broad bipartisan coalition of House Members, by a vote of 209-224, rejected an amendment to the FY26 National Defense Authorization Act that sought to raise national security as a statutory bar to offshore wind projects. The issue could not have been made clearer for the Revolution Wind project than in the Department of Defense’s December 2024 letter which states that the project, ‘would not have adverse impacts to DoD missions in the area,’” said Rep. Joe Courtney, who also serves as the Ranking Member on the House Seapower and Projection Forces Subcommittee. “The Trump Administration promised to cut energy prices in half. We know that President Trump has a longstanding personal vendetta against offshore wind. Pausing these projects without any real justification will do nothing but increase costs for rate payers and eliminate good paying jobs for the building trades.”
State lawmakers also weighed in.
"This decision by Donald Trump is anti-business, anti-environment, and anti-employee. Imagine the private sector pulling a contract when the work is 80% complete and $100 million has been invested. Imagine being told a few days before Christmas, don’t bother showing up for work tomorrow," said State Senator Christine Cohen (D-Guilford), Senate Chair of the Transportation Committee, and Senator Norm Needleman (D-Essex), Senate Chair of the Energy & Technology Committee, in a joint statement. "Imagine the environmental impact of the loss of electrical capacity not being generated by nuclear power plants or natural gas. Imagine the impact on the State Pier, our Port Authority, shoreline transportation and Connecticut's shipping-based economy. It is our sincere hope that this move by the Republican Trump Administration will be defeated in court just like his last attack on wind power was. We also look forward to our Republican colleagues publicly condemning this action.”