New York Attorney General Letitia James filed two new lawsuits against the Trump administration after federal officials ordered construction paused on two offshore wind projects and froze billions of dollars in social services funding.
James announced the lawsuits after the Department of the Interior directed developers to halt work on the Sunrise Wind and Empire Wind projects off Long Island, citing national security concerns. James said the actions were unlawful and harmed New York’s clean energy goals and union jobs.
“New Yorkers deserve clean energy, good-paying union jobs and a government that follows the law,” James wrote on social media.
I'm filing two lawsuits against the Trump administration for illegally trying to stop construction on offshore wind projects off Long Island that will power over a million homes.
— NY AG James (@NewYorkStateAG) January 9, 2026
New Yorkers deserve clean energy, good-paying union jobs, and a government that follows the law.
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said the pause was needed to address “emerging national security risks.” Federal officials have not provided additional public detail on the specific threats cited.
James also joined a coalition of five states in a separate lawsuit challenging a freeze on roughly $10 billion in federal funding for social services, including child care subsidies and aid for low-income families. The suit argues the funding halt is illegal and would disrupt assistance for hundreds of thousands of households.
The new filings follow recent setbacks for the Justice Department in its effort to revive criminal charges against James. Federal prosecutors previously sought to reindict her on mortgage and bank fraud allegations tied to property records. James denied wrongdoing and said the case was politically motivated.
A judge dismissed the earlier indictment after finding the prosecutor who brought the case lacked lawful authority. When prosecutors later attempted to revive the charges, a federal grand jury declined to reindict James.
James has said the prosecution effort was retaliation for her civil fraud case against Trump and his business empire. In 2024, a New York judge found Trump liable for fraud and ordered him to pay roughly $450 million. In 2025, a state appeals court upheld the liability finding but voided the financial penalty, calling it excessive.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul criticized the federal stop-work order on the wind projects, saying it lacked legal justification and would cost jobs and threaten the state’s power supply. She said the pause would slow economic development tied to renewable energy.
Trump has repeatedly criticized wind and solar power. In an August post on Truth Social, he wrote that states relying on wind and solar were seeing “RECORD BREAKING INCREASES IN ELECTRICITY AND ENERGY COSTS,” calling renewable energy “THE SCAM OF THE CENTURY.”
Any State that has built and relied on WINDMILLS and SOLAR for power are seeing RECORD BREAKING INCREASES IN ELECTRICITY AND ENERGY COSTS. THE SCAM OF THE CENTURY! We will not approve wind or farmer destroying Solar. The days of stupidity are over in the USA!!! MAGA
— Commentary: Trump Truth Social Posts On X (@TrumpTruthOnX) August 20, 2025
(TS: 20 Aug…
The lawsuits were filed in federal court. The administration has not yet filed formal responses.
