December 9, 2025 — A federal judge on Monday ruled in favor of Massachusetts and more than a dozen states that sued the Trump administration in May over President Donald Trump’s day-one offshore wind memo. The directive has frozen permitting since January, pending a comprehensive review by federal agencies.
The states argued the memo is unlawful and has caused significant harm – stymieing domestic investment, jeopardizing states’ abilities to supply enough electricity, and creating an “existential threat” to the industry.
Judge Patti B. Saris seemed to agree with their legal claims: “The State Plaintiffs have produced ample evidence demonstrating that they face ongoing or imminent injuries due to the Wind Order.”
On the flip side, she delivered sharp criticism of the federal government’s arguments and the wind memo itself, writing that it fails to adequately explain or support such a significant change in course from the agencies’ prior permitting practices.
“Whatever level of explanation is required when deviating from longstanding agency practice, this is not it,” Judge Saris wrote.
“The Court concludes that the Wind Order constitutes a final agency action that is arbitrary and capricious and contrary to law,” she wrote. “Accordingly, the Court allows Plaintiffs’ motions… denies the Agency Defendants’ motion…, and declares unlawful and vacates the Wind Order” in its entirety.
Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell in a statement Monday called the ruling a “critical victory.”