Without Reason Or Warning, Trump Admin Rips Rug Out From Energy Company Equinor, Halting $5 Billion Investment In American Energy, Threatening 4,000 Jobs & Risking Energy For Hundreds Of Thousands Of Americans; Trump Admin’s Bizarre Obsession Against Clean Energy Leads To Full Blown Attack On Fully Permitted, Fully Invested, And Economy-Boosting Empire Wind Project – Risking All Pending Wind & Clean Energy Projects Across US; Schumer Demands Immediate Release Of Secret Report — Warns This Could

Washington, D.C. – Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) today spoke on the Senate floor to condemn Donald Trump and Republicans’ assault on America’s clean energy projects, specifically decrying the administration’s unjustified “stop work” order on Equinor’s offshore wind project off Long Island, NY, which should serve as an ominous warning for clean energy investments in the U.S. and all businesses investing in America. Schumer also called on Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to immediately release the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration alleged report that was used as justification to halt work on the fully-permitted and funded Empire Wind Project. Attached and linked here is Senator Schumer’s letter to Secretary Lutnick. Below are Senator Schumer’s remarks, which can also be viewed here:

There is really nothing – nothing – to celebrate about Republicans’ “Big, Beautiful Bill” unless you are a billionaire or an oil company.

But for everyone else, this so-called big beautiful bill is in fact nothing more than a big fat grift. It’s taking money away from people, raising costs on average Americans, all to help the billionaires.

And today, I want to talk about how Republicans’ big grift is an assault on America’s clean energy – specifically, the bill that was just released by the Energy and Commerce Committee, or at least that part of it.

Now, Donald Trump and Republicans claim to want American energy dominance, but from the moment he became president, they have been hell bent on killing the clean energy investments America needs to meet the energy needs of tomorrow.

They say they want more energy, then they cut off the cheapest, quickest, most available form of energy for ideological and grift reasons.

In a moment, I will talk about the awful Republican bill that just came out of committee.

But first, I want to talk about a specific project.

Donald Trump’s clean energy vendetta is wreaking particular havoc on New York’s offshore wind industry, and it’s a warning to the rest of America of how he will deal with clean energy projects. What's happened here is utterly despicable, amazing, and awful.

A few weeks ago, the Trump administration suddenly – and without explanation – issued a stop work order on New York’s Empire Wind farm, a seven billion dollar project already underway by the company Equinor.

This is not some project in the planning stages. No, no, no – this was approved years ago. Three, four billion dollars has been put into developing the offshore windmills that will provide energy for hundreds of thousands of homes. Clean energy, cheap energy.

And all of a sudden, out of the clear blue, the Secretary of Interior says they must stop the project because the environmental impact statement was rushed.

The company asks why, and the Interior Secretary says there's a report that NOAA has issued – that's in the Commerce Department – that says this was rushed and inadequate in terms of the environmental impact.

So, the company has asked – I have asked – repeatedly for the Commerce Department to show us what the reasoning is, which we think there's none.

We want to know the specifics of why they halted this project out of the clear blue.

A project employing thousands of people. A project where there are boats – I think close to 50 of them – right offshore, actually building these offshore wind turbines.

But there is no explanation. This is like a dictatorship: no due process, no explanation.

Out of the blue, just as billions have already been spent, and just as construction is underway off the coast, just as 30% of the project is built, Donald Trump and Howard Lutnick say halt. It’s outrageous.

Give us a reason, says the company. They have invested billions here in America. They're a Norwegian company, one of the largest offshore wind companies in the world. They're well qualified, they're well known. They have a good history.

Give us a reason. Show us what's wrong with the approval.

No answer. No reason.

And the project is now on hold. All the boats are out there, the workers are out there.

No explanation has been given, nor has Equinor been given any opportunity to discuss and address potential problems. This is not how businesses operate.

My friends on the other side like to talk about running government more like a business. Well, this is just outrageous.

And every week that Empire Wind sits idle, it costs $50 million.

So now, the project may die altogether.

Why? We know why. Donald Trump hates offshore wind.

He hates offshore wind because supposedly years ago they built a wind farm off the coast of his Scotland golf course. He fought to kill it, he lost, so now he is taking it out on all offshore wind to the detriment of American energy needs, in a way that is like a dictatorship. Stop, they say. We're not giving you a reason. It's outrageous. It's malicious and intentional sabotage.

It is an outright attack on New York jobs and on New York workers. And it’s happening for no other reason than partisan ideology and political sociopathy.

Partisan ideology, because the right wing oil and gas barons hate clean energy, even though it's the cheapest way to reduce our energy needs. And political sociopathy, because Donald Trump hates offshore wind because he didn't like windmills off his golf course in Scotland.

The Trump administration must at least give an explanation so the company can answer why they should continue with the project.

I call on Secretary Lutnick to immediately release the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration report that was used as justification to halt work on the Empire Wind project.

New Yorkers, Americans, the company, which invests heavily in America, deserve to know: why halt this project? What’s the deal? What’s the justification? And what’s the plan to get these jobs back on track?

These are good-paying jobs.

If everything is on the level, the Administration should not fear being transparent with Equinor.

What's the answer? How can they shut the project down and give no explanation?

We called the Secretary of the Interior. He says it's up to Secretary Lutnick and NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. They're the ones who say that this was approved much too quickly, even though it was working perfectly for years and even though construction is ongoing.

And by the way, to everyone investing in America, whether you're an American company or not, this should be a shot across the bow of what this administration can do: out of the clear blue, just say stop, no explanation, no reason, no ands, ifs, or buts.

Our business community should be outraged about how this business is being treated. Not just the energy business – they can do this anywhere.

We need answers, and at the very minimum, the explanation as to why they ordered this project stopped. I imagine the answer is very flimsy and came from Donald Trump's sociopathy, because he hates offshore wind because of what they did building out those wind farms off the golf course in Scotland. It’s well known why he hates offshore wind.

So, what happened with Equinor is just a disgusting travesty that must be reversed. It is so, so outrageously unfair, malicious, and counterproductive for America's energy needs.

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