September 11, 2025 — The U.S. Department of Justice filed a motion in an ongoing case challenging the licensing for the construction of the Empire Wind offshore energy project, citing the lack of merit in the opposition’s claims and defending the licensing process. The filing contradicts some of the positions the Trump administration has taken to challenge other offshore wind projects.
The filing was made on September 5 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in a case filed by local opponents of offshore wind that call their group Save Long Beach Island. The group has repeatedly filed claims in court seeking injunctions against the permits issued for the wind farm projects. The current case against the U.S. Department of Commerce is seeking emergency injunctive relief to enjoin the construction of Empire Wind, which is underway, as well as the effective dates of the project’s Record of Decision and the National Marine Fisheries Service’s Letter of Authorization.
In the past, the Trump administration has cited concerns over the regulatory approvals for offshore wind projects and claimed the Biden administration rushed projects through the approval process. In April, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management stopped offshore activity for Empire Wind, citing some of these same concerns, but a month later reversed its order and permitted the project’s offshore work to resume.