Press ReleaseUrgent2026-09-17

Congresswoman Ross Calls Out Trump Administration’s Corrupt Offshore Wind Buyouts

ClimateEnvironmentForeign PolicyLaborInfrastructureEthics

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This press release from Representative Deborah K. Ross (D-NC) was published on 2026-09-17 and titled "Congresswoman Ross Calls Out Trump Administration’s Corrupt Offshore Wind Buyouts".

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Congresswoman Ross Calls Out Trump Administration’s Corrupt Offshore Wind Buyouts

Watch a recording of the press conference HERE . Washington, D.C. - Today, Congresswoman Ross joined fellow members of Congress, labor leaders, and environmental advocates in front of the Capitol to call out the Trump administration's continued attacks on offshore wind and demand accountability for billions of dollars in taxpayer-funded buyouts. Representatives Ross, (NC-02) Chellie Pingree (ME-01), Jared Huffman (CA-02), Salud Carbajal (CA-24) and Senator Ed Markey (MA) spoke alongside Kendall Martin, General Vice President of Ironworkers International, and Bob Keefe, Executive Director of E2 | Economy+Environment, to highlight the lack of transparency around the administration's corrupt, taxpayer-funded offshore wind buyout deals. Since March, the Department of the Interior has canceled 12 offshore wind leases, including two in North Carolina. In doing so, the Trump administration has made unprecedented use of the Treasury Department's Judgment Fund to pay developers nearly $4 billion in taxpayer funds to walk away from their offshore wind leases. These cancellations jeopardize clean energy projects that would have delivered affordable, reliable energy to millions of Americans-including over 300,000 North Carolina homes-and created thousands of good-paying jobs. "My home state of North Carolina has been a long time leader in clean energy, including offshore wind," said Congresswoman Deborah Ross (NC-02). "The canceled projects would have created thousands of good-paying jobs and powered over 300,000 homes. This is happening when we are already experiencing record-high electricity prices across our state. [...] President Trump and the Department of Energy put their political agenda ahead of North Carolina's economic and energy needs. Families cannot afford to pay the price for that." "What is so outrageous about these buyouts that are now totaling almost $4 billion of taxpayer money that's just been lit on fire is that we're going through a time when families are struggling," said Congressman Jared Huffman (CA-02). "We've got this industry ready to make major investments in coastal communities that will not only create jobs but will provide cheap and reliable clean power that will bring electric rates down. This is exactly what we need at this time." "The Trump administration is spending nearly $4 billion in taxpayer funds to cancel 12 offshore wind leases at the same time when Americans' utility bills are rising. Their priorities are completely out of whack," said Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (ME-01). "As Ranking Member of the Interior and Environment Appropriations Subcommittee, I take Congress's power of the purse seriously. Taxpayers deserve to know who authorized these buyouts, how they were valued, and why the Judgment Fund was used. We need transparency, accountability, and more affordable, reliable domestic energy - not dirty deals that force taxpayers to pay for less of it." "The administration spent nearly $4 billion in taxpayer funds to illegally cancel promising offshore wind project leases across the country, including 2 of 3 in my district off of Morro Bay," said Congressman Salud Carbajal (CA-24). "As families face higher energy costs because of the president's disastrous war in Iran, these cancellations will just inflict more damage to our economy and family budgets - not to mention the big waste of taxpayer funds. I won't let this extreme federal overreach go unchallenged, and I will continue to stand shoulder to shoulder with all of my colleagues here and our communities affected by these cancelled leases to say yes to wind, no to dirty deals." "What is happening here? It's just corruption on stilts. We need more affordable, made-in-America, union, ready-to-go power than ever before - and we need it to be clean, because climate change is getting worse and costing us millions and billions more every single year," said Senator Ed Markey of Massachusetts. "This is Economics 101. We've got a major supply and demand problem: Trump is killing our electricity supply at his donors' demand. Instead of solving the energy affordability crisis he has created, Trump is blocking offshore wind from the grid. He's taking union workers out of work by the tens of thousands. And to add insult to injury, he's spending your money to do it." "Offshore wind is here, and it's working. It's saving ratepayers money, breaking our dependence on volatile foreign fuel markets, creating cleaner air, and putting thousands of American union members to work," said Kendall Martin, General Vice President of Ironworkers International. "It is common sense to keep building this necessary infrastructure at a time of increasing energy demand. Union workers in offshore wind are just trying to do our jobs, pay our bills, and build something that leaves the planet a little better for our kids and grandkids. I ask the Trump administration to stop these senseless attacks on American energy and let us get to work." "It makes no sense

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Congresswoman Ross Calls Out Trump Administration’s Corrupt Offshore Wind Buyouts Watch a recording of the press conference HERE . Washington, D.C. - Today, Congresswoman Ross joined fellow members of Congress, labor leaders, and environmental advocates in front of the Capitol to call out the Trump administration's continued attacks on offshore wind and demand accountability for billions of dollars in taxpayer-funded buyouts. Representatives Ross, (NC-02) Chellie Pingree (ME-01), Jared Huffman (CA-02), Salud Carbajal (CA-24) and Senator Ed Markey (MA) spoke alongside Kendall Martin, General Vice President of Ironworkers International, and Bob Keefe, Executive Director of E2 | Economy+Environment, to highlight the lack of transparency around the administration's corrupt, taxpayer-funded offshore wind buyout deals. Since March, the Department of the Interior has canceled 12 offshore wind leases, including two in North Carolina. In doing so, the Trump administration has made unprecedented use of the Treasury Department's Judgment Fund to pay developers nearly $4 billion in taxpayer funds to walk away from their offshore wind leases. These cancellations jeopardize clean energy projects that would have delivered affordable, reliable energy to millions of Americans-including over 300,000 North Carolina homes-and created thousands of good-paying jobs. "My home state of North Carolina has been a long time leader in clean energy, including offshore wind," said Congresswoman Deborah Ross (NC-02). "The canceled projects would have created thousands of good-paying jobs and powered over 300,000 homes. This is happening when we are already experiencing record-high electricity prices across our state. [...] President Trump and the Department of Energy put their political agenda ahead of North Carolina's economic and energy needs. Families cannot afford to pay the price for that." "What is so outrageous about these buyouts that are now totaling almost $4 billion of taxpayer money that's just been lit on fire is that we're going through a time when families are struggling," said Congressman Jared Huffman (CA-02). "We've got this industry ready to make major investments in coastal communities that will not only create jobs but will provide cheap and reliable clean power that will bring electric rates down. This is exactly what we need at this time." "The Trump administration is spending nearly $4 billion in taxpayer funds to cancel 12 offshore wind leases at the same time when Americans' utility bills are rising. Their priorities are completely out of whack," said Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (ME-01). "As Ranking Member of the Interior and Environment Appropriations Subcommittee, I take Congress's power of the purse seriously. Taxpayers deserve to know who authorized these buyouts, how they were valued, and why the Judgment Fund was used. We need transparency, accountability, and more affordable, reliable domestic energy - not dirty deals that force taxpayers to pay for less of it." "The administration spent nearly $4 billion in taxpayer funds to illegally cancel promising offshore wind project leases across the country, including 2 of 3 in my district off of Morro Bay," said Congressman Salud Carbajal (CA-24). "As families face higher energy costs because of the president's disastrous war in Iran, these cancellations will just inflict more damage to our economy and family budgets - not to mention the big waste of taxpayer funds. I won't let this extreme federal overreach go unchallenged, and I will continue to stand shoulder to shoulder with all of my colleagues here and our communities affected by these cancelled leases to say yes to wind, no to dirty deals." "What is happening here? It's just corruption on stilts. We need more affordable, made-in-America, union, ready-to-go power than ever before - and we need it to be clean, because climate change is getting worse and costing us millions and billions more every single year," said Senator Ed Markey of Massachusetts. "This is Economics 101. We've got a major supply and demand problem: Trump is killing our electricity supply at his donors' demand. Instead of solving the energy affordability crisis he has created, Trump is blocking offshore wind from the grid. He's taking union workers out of work by the tens of thousands. And to add insult to injury, he's spending your money to do it." "Offshore wind is here, and it's working. It's saving ratepayers money, breaking our dependence on volatile foreign fuel markets, creating cleaner air, and putting thousands of American union members to work," said Kendall Martin, General Vice President of Ironworkers International. "It is common sense to keep building this necessary infrastructure at a time of increasing energy demand. Union workers in offshore wind are just trying to do our jobs, pay our bills, and build something that leaves the planet a little better for our kids and grandkids. I ask the Trump administration to stop these senseless attacks on American energy and let us get to work." "It makes no sense