In a court filing Tuesday, the Justice Department argued that the project’s construction and operations plan should be reconsidered because it was approved despite what the government described as major adverse impacts. The plan received federal approval in 2024 under President Joe Biden. Construction has not begun.

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, a Rhode Island Democrat, said Wednesday that the administration’s actions could undermine a Senate agreement reached in September to speed reviews of new energy and infrastructure projects. The bill has not yet come to a vote.

“This is how you blow up a permitting deal,” Whitehouse said in a statement.

The Interior Department said Wednesday that its filing followed a court briefing schedule and did not announce a policy change. The department said its position on offshore wind has remained consistent during the Trump administration.

New England Wind, developed by Avangrid, could include as many as 129 turbines and generate up to 2,600 megawatts of electricity — enough to power more than 900,000 homes annually, according to the project plan. Avangrid declined to comment Wednesday.

The administration has also sought to reopen approvals for Revolution Wind, a project serving Rhode Island and Connecticut that has completed construction, and the Maryland Offshore Wind Project, where construction has not started. A federal judge in August allowed Interior to reconsider the permit for New Jersey’s Atlantic Shores project. Last year, a judge also permitted review of the SouthCoast Wind approval, granted shortly before Trump began his second term.

Those actions follow administration efforts to stop construction on five East Coast offshore wind projects, which were blocked by federal judges. The administration has also begun buying back offshore wind leases. Trump has criticized wind power as “ugly” and unreliable compared with fossil fuels such as coal and natural gas.

Pasha Feinberg, an offshore wind strategist with the Natural Resources Defense Council, said the administration’s actions come as households face rising utility bills. “It’s long past time for the Trump administration to realize its war on clean energy is backfiring,” Feinberg said.

The National Ocean Industries Association, which represents businesses in offshore industries including oil and wind, said repeated reviews of federal approvals create uncertainty for energy projects. Its president, Erik Milito, said the Senate’s proposed reforms could provide greater certainty across the sector and that the administration’s actions show why Congress should pass the legislation.

New England Wind’s federal approval is already being challenged in court by ACK for Whales, a group of Nantucket residents concerned about potential effects of offshore wind development. The group’s lawsuit argues that the government failed to comply with multiple statutes. Federal officials told the court in 2025 that they wanted to reconsider the project’s approval; Tuesday’s filing asks the court to formally return the permit to Interior for a new decision.

Avangrid has also developed Vineyard Wind off Massachusetts with Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners. Construction on that project was completed in March, making it the first offshore wind project to reach that stage during Trump’s current term. The administration had attempted to halt its construction, citing national security concerns.