The judiciary has taken too much power. They act as if they can legislate from the bench.
Now a federal judge struck down a key Trump order that is angering Republicans.
Judge Torpedoes Trump’s Offshore Wind Freeze
A federal court has dismantled President Donald Trump’s broad executive order that slammed the brakes on all new federal wind energy leasing and permitting, delivering a major win for clean energy advocates.
Seventeen states, Washington, D.C., and the Alliance for Clean Energy New York filed suit against the administration, claiming the halt breached the Administrative Procedure Act (APA). On Monday, U.S. District Judge Patti Saris — a 1993 appointee of former President Bill Clinton — sided with the plaintiffs, deeming the agencies’ execution of the so-called Wind Order “arbitrary and capricious.”
Saris faulted the government for offering no substantive rationale for the blanket pause beyond the president’s command, and for skipping a serious evaluation of the environmental, economic, and procedural fallout from such a drastic move.
Inside the Wind Memo: A Sweeping Moratorium Under Scrutiny
Trump’s January 20, 2025, directive — dubbed the Wind Memo — triggered an instant, open-ended pullback of all Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) zones from offshore wind leasing consideration.
It further slapped a nationwide moratorium on fresh or renewed approvals for onshore and offshore wind developments, all while awaiting a deep-dive audit of environmental, economic, and permitting protocols.
Though active leases dodged immediate cancellation, the order mandated a full-throated reevaluation to determine if they warranted tweaks or outright termination.
The memo also flagged extra scrutiny for the Lava Ridge onshore wind initiative, the community toll of obsolete turbines, and urged the Justice Department to pursue delays in ongoing lawsuits.
“Plaintiffs have challenged ‘the Agency Defendants’ actions under the’ Wind Memo, not the Wind Memo itself,” Saris observed.
“The proof is in the pudding: No permits have issued since the issue was promulgated, and The Agency Defendants acknowledge they will not issue any permits at least until they complete the Comprehensive Assessment, for which there is no timeline.”
White House Pushes Back: “Ending Biden’s War on American Energy”
The administration stood firm behind the policy, blasting the prior Biden era for tilting the scales toward offshore wind at the expense of other energy sources.
“Under Joe Biden’s Green New Scam, offshore wind projects were given unfair, preferential treatment while the rest of the energy industry was hindered by burdensome regulations,” White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers declared.
“President Trump’s day one executive order instructed agencies to review leases and permitting practices for wind projects with consideration for our country’s growing demands for reliable energy, effects on energy costs for American families, the importance of marine life and fishing industry, and the impacts on ocean currents and wind patterns.
President Trump has ended Joe Biden’s war on American energy and unleashed America’s energy dominance to protect our economic and national security.”
