Judge shoots down Trump's halt on massive Martha's Vineyard project

Source: Raw Story

January 27, 2026 7:56PM ET


A federal judge has dealt the Trump administration yet another courtroom defeat over offshore wind, ruling Tuesday that construction can resume on the nearly complete $4.5 billion Vineyard Wind project off Martha's Vineyard.

Judge Brian E. Murphy of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts issued a preliminary injunction allowing developers to restart work, marking the fourth legal setback for the administration's aggressive push to kill the nation's burgeoning offshore wind industry, The New York Times reported.

The Trump administration had abruptly ordered all work halted on Vineyard Wind and four other East Coast projects just before Christmas, citing a classified Defense Department report alleging national security risks. But Judge Murphy, appointed by former President Joe Biden, wasn't buying it. After reviewing the classified material under seal, he said the administration failed to "adequately explain or justify the decision to halt construction."

Vineyard Wind is 95 percent complete and already pumping power into Massachusetts' grid. Once finished, it'll power over 400,000 homes and businesses. The roughly $2 million daily losses have been piling up during the shutdown.

Read more: https://www.rawstory.com/trump-offshore-wind/