Courtney Presses Trump Admin for Answers on National Security “Concerns” Cited in Order to Halt Revolution Wind Project
NORWICH, CT – This week, Congressman Joe Courtney (CT-02), Ranking Member of the House Seapower and Projection Forces Subcommittee, sent a letter to Acting Director of Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) Matthew Giacona, asking him to clarify the national security concerns cited in BOEM’s August 22nd order to halt work on the Revolution Wind project.
“As Ranking Member of the Seapower Subcommittee of the House Armed Services Committee, the issues raised by your August 22, 2025 order are of deep concern and given the devastating impact of this order on the livelihood of hundreds of building trades workers and supply chain companies, your swift response is urgently required,” Courtney wrote in the letter.
FULL LETTER TEXT:
Dear Acting Director Giacona,
I am writing as the Member of Congress representing New London, Connecticut, to request information regarding the Director’s Order issued August 22, 2025 to Revolution Wind, LLC regarding the Revolution Wind Project.
The Director’s Order cites a review of this project was undertaken pursuant to a Presidential Memorandum that directs a review of existing wind energy leases to consider the “ecological, economic, and environmental necessity of terminating or amending any existing wind energy leases.” The Order cites the agency’s need to address “concerns related to the protection of national security interests of the United States.”
As you know, during the course of Revolution Wind’s permitting from 2021 to 2023, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) consulted with the Department of Defense at each stage of the regulatory process to ensure any national security considerations were addressed. Because of that requirement, BOEM meticulously analyzed “protection of national security interests of the United States” as part of its findings in its Record of Decision filed jointly with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Marine Fisheries Service, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on August 21, 2023. As it clearly states, BOEM intensively consulted with the U.S. Coast Guard, Department of Defense, Department of Navy, North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), United States Air Force, Federal Aviation Administration, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the National Park Service, and state agencies.
That exhaustive review inventoried issues that were raised, and directed Revolution Wind, LLC to coordinate with the Department of Defense, Navy, and NORAD to mitigate these items, ensuring that transit by Coast Guard vessels and U.S. Navy warships, as well as NORAD radar operations, would not be hindered by the final placement of Revolution Wind towers. Revolution Wind accepted this record of decision, and made the necessary mitigations BOEM called for.
Given the good faith reliance and performance by all parties to comply with BOEM’s record of decision, I respectfully request answers to the following questions by September 5, 2025.
1. Please clarify national security concerns raised by the current review undertaken pursuant to the Presidential Memorandum of January 20, 2025, and how they differ from BOEM’s prior 2023 extensive analysis and requested mitigation by Revolution Wind vis a vis the Department of Defense, which the parties agreed to.
2. When exactly did BOEM become aware of the existence of new national security concerns that were not part of the 2023 record of decision?
3. Given the fact that 80% of the wind towers have already been installed, has BOEM’s new review determine how any new national security concerns can be addressed?
4. In the course of the current review, has BOEM consulted with and received confirmation from the Department of Defense, Department of the Navy, NORAD, or any other entity of the United States military regarding national security concerns specific to this project?
5. If so, please send documentation of that consultation to my office, or if you prefer, to professional staff at the House Armed Services Committee as soon as possible.
As Ranking Member of the Seapower and Projection Forces Subcommittee of the House Armed Services Committee, the issues raised by your August 22, 2025 order are of deep concern, and given the devastating impact of the order on the livelihood of hundreds of building trades workers and supply chain companies, your swift response if urgently required.
Sincerely,
Joe Courtney
Member of Congress
BACKGROUND
While the Trump Administration letter to halt the Revolution Wind project cites addressing “concerns related to the protection of national security interests of the United States”, in 2023, a record of decision by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management already analyzed and addressed national security considerations for the project in coordination with the Department of Defense.
Read Rep. Courtney’s full statement in response to the Trump Administration’s halt work order for the Revolution Wind project here.
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