Federal judge to deny Trump administration's motion to dismiss lawsuit over block on wind projects
Source: AP
Updated 3:31 PM EDT, June 18, 2025
A federal judge in Massachusetts said Wednesday he plans to deny a motion by the Trump administration to dismiss a lawsuit over its blocking of wind energy projects, siding with a coalition of state attorneys general.
Led by New York Attorney General Letitia James, attorneys general from 17 states and Washington, D.C. are suing in federal court to challenge President Donald Trump’s Day One executive order halting leasing and permitting for wind energy projects.
Judge William G. Young said during a hearing that he plans to allow the case to proceed against Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, but will dismiss the action against Trump and cabinet secretaries other than Burgum named as defendants.
He said he thinks states do have standing to sue, which the federal government had argued against. The states can proceed with claims that blocking permits for wind energy projects violates the Administrative Procedure Act, which outlines a detailed process for enacting regulations, but not the Constitution, Young said. Young said his rulings from the bench were tentative and reserved the right to alter them in writing his formal opinion.
Read more: https://apnews.com/article/trump-administration-wind-permitting-offshore-attorney-general-fb0d8a8040bef42398b2ec711c71a41e