Cortez Masto Leads Call for Strong Guardrails on Trump Administration Stonewalling of Wind and Solar Projects

Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) led Senators Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), and Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) in a letter to the leadership of Interior-Environment and Energy-Water Appropriations subcommittees calling on them to put guardrails in place that would stop the Trump Administration's stonewalling of wind and solar energy projects. Their letter follows a July 2025 Department of the Interior (DOI) memo which directs the Department to place additional scrutiny on only certain renewable energy sources.

"On April 21st, a U.S. District Court granted a coalition of industry groups' request for preliminary injunction on actions by the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) and the Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) to disregard and block permits for solar and wind projects," wrote the Senators. "The judge determined that the plaintiff's allegations are likely to succeed on the merits and that the agencies actions posed imminent and irreparable harm to the plaintiffs. In line with this court's decision and in light of the urgent need to approve and build more clean energy projects, the Committees should include language prohibiting the agencies from carrying out the actions subject to the court's injunction."

The Senators emphasize the need to approve clean energy projects to meet increased energy demand and lower prices. They cite the increased cost of crude oil, now more than $110 per barrel due to Trump's foreign war of choice in Iran. Additionally, the Senators note the increased demand from new technological innovations, like Artificial Intelligence, driving up the cost of electricity nationwide.

"In order to ensure American businesses have access to abundant energy resources and protect communities from shouldering higher costs from an energy-constrained grid, we must tap into developing energy resources without discrimination. We respectfully request that you include language directing DOI and USACE to facilitate the responsible development of American energy […]," concluded the Senators.

Read the full letter here.

Senator Cortez Masto has consistently worked to support Nevada's battery supply chain and clean energy industry, which has created nearly 42,000 good-paying clean energy jobs across Nevada. Through her Innovation State Initiative, Senator Cortez Masto has been a proponent of renewable and sustainable energy, passing bipartisan legislation to promote Nevada's mining and emerging battery industries. The Senator had previously led the Nevada delegation in a letter to Interior Secretary Burgum raising concerns that the Department's new policy placed additional scrutiny on only certain renewable energy sources.

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