A Justice Department filing late Tuesday sought to reopen a permit for the New England Wind project off Massachusetts, marking the fourth offshore wind project targeted in recent weeks.
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, a lead Democratic negotiator, said the move could blow up the bipartisan permitting deal now before the Senate by undermining trust around clean-energy approvals.
The Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act of 2026 had been billed as a breakthrough, pairing easier permits for transmission lines with Republican-backed changes to the Clean Water Act and NEPA.
That tradeoff is central to a broader bargain: Democrats want faster grid and clean-energy buildout, while Republicans want permitting changes that also ease fossil-fuel projects.