The Big Story 

The Trump administration is seeking to hold up an already-approved and under-construction offshore wind farm off the coast of Rhode Island.

© AP Photo

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) in a letter sent to Orsted, saying the stop-work order seeks “to address concerns related to the protection of national security interests of the United States and prevention of interference with reasonable uses of the exclusive economic zone, the high seas, and the territorial seas.”

It did not specify what those concerns are.

“You may not resume activities until BOEM informs you that BOEM has completed its necessary review,” the letter added.

“Americans deserve energy that is affordable, reliable, and built to last — not experimental and expensive wind projects that are proven failures,” Aubrie Spady, deputy press secretary for the Interior Department, told The Hill in an emailed statement on Monday.

Read more here, from The Hill’s Amalia Huot-Marchand.

Welcome to The Hill’s Energy & Environment newsletter, I’m Rachel Frazin  — keeping you up to speed on the policies impacting everything from oil and gas to new supply chains.

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Essential Reads 

How policy will affect the energy and environment sectors now and in the future:

FEMA staffers warn Trump administration policies weakening disaster response

New England grid operator warns Trump’s pause on wind farm risks system’s reliability

Los Angeles area unemployment claims surged following January wildfires: Report

What We’re Reading 

News we’ve flagged from other outlets touching on energy issues, the environment and other topics:

• Bay Area heat wave smashes records (SFGate)

• Trump plans to make Cold War-era plutonium available for nuclear power (Reuters)

What Others are Reading 

Two key stories on The Hill right now:

Trump admin ‘absolutely forbidden’ from removing Abrego Garcia, judge says 

A federal judge on Monday doubled down that the Trump administration is “absolutely forbidden” from removing mistakenly deported man Kilmar Abrego Garcia from the U.S., for now.   Read more

Cracker Barrel releases statement following backlash over rebranded logo

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to correct the name of the Cracker Barrel founder and attribution of a post on X. Read more