Washington, D.C. – Today, House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Jared Huffman (D-Calif.), U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), U.S. House Armed Services Committee Ranking Member Adam Smith (D-Wash.), and U.S. House Energy and Commerce Ranking Member Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-N.J.) sent a letter to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth demanding a classified briefing on the administration’s sudden halt of all large-scale offshore wind projects in the United States, including projects already under construction and generating clean, affordable power.
The administration claims the pause is based on “recently completed classified reports” identifying national security concerns. But these projects already cleared extensive national security reviews, including direct coordination with the Department of Defense, before receiving their permits.
Following the announcement, Secretary Burgum took to social media about the decision, criticizing the projects for unrelated reasons, calling offshore wind a “scam” and raising unsupported concerns about wildlife and energy prices.
In their letter, the Ranking Members warn that the pause affects projects that, together, would generate enough electricity to power almost 2.7 million homes. Several projects are already generating electricity for the grid. Dominion Energy, developer of the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project, warned that "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."
In their letter, the Ranking Members write, “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 administration’s order is already facing resistance in the courts. On January 13, a federal judge granted Revolution Wind’s request for an injunction, allowing the project to resume construction while Revolution Wind’s lawsuit against the government proceeds. At least four of the five affected projects have filed legal challenges against the administration’s order.
Read the full letter here.
The administration claims the pause is based on “recently completed classified reports” identifying national security concerns. But these projects already cleared extensive national security reviews, including direct coordination with the Department of Defense, before receiving their permits.
Following the announcement, Secretary Burgum took to social media about the decision, criticizing the projects for unrelated reasons, calling offshore wind a “scam” and raising unsupported concerns about wildlife and energy prices.
In their letter, the Ranking Members warn that the pause affects projects that, together, would generate enough electricity to power almost 2.7 million homes. Several projects are already generating electricity for the grid. Dominion Energy, developer of the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project, warned that "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."
In their letter, the Ranking Members write, “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 administration’s order is already facing resistance in the courts. On January 13, a federal judge granted Revolution Wind’s request for an injunction, allowing the project to resume construction while Revolution Wind’s lawsuit against the government proceeds. At least four of the five affected projects have filed legal challenges against the administration’s order.
Read the full letter here.
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