CA Sues Trump
California threatens to sue the Trump administration over alleged corrupt backroom deals favoring fossil fuels
Gov.
Gavin Newsom (D-CA) on Tuesday slammed President Donald Trump , accusing the latter of deliberately slowing down clean energy projects to favor fossil fuels.
California AG Touts Notice Of Intent To Sue California Attorney General Rob Bonta accused Trump of “illegally working to kill offshore wind projects” and favoring fossil fuels, in a post on X .
He then said that California had sent a “Notice Of Intent To Sue” for the Trump administration.
Read Also: Elizabeth Warren Says Trump's Iran War Is Costing Americans $800 Million A Day While Oil CEOs Get Richer The Trump Administration is illegally working to kill offshore wind projects and replace them with more windfalls for his fossil fuel friends.
We put the Administration on notice that we will sue.
California’s investments in wind energy have advanced our clean energy goals,… — Rob Bonta (@AGRobBonta) June 23, 2026 The press release shared by Bonta outlined that the notice was targeting an “unlawful agreement between the U.S.
Department of Interior (DOI) and Golden State Wind LLC (GSW) that puts at risk California’s clean energy gains.” The California AG said that the Trump administration had violated the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA), which outlines that California will have a “say in the offshore wind leasing program and prevent corrupt backroom deals,” the press release said.
Read Also: Gavin Newsom Says Trump Is Sending The DOJ After Him Because He's Thinking About Running For President — Tim Walz Says 'You're In Good Company' The press release accused the DOI of “illegally allocating” over $120 million to the company to abandon an offshore wind energy lease it secured in 2022 for a 2-Gigawatt offshore wind farm in the Morro Bay Wind Energy Area, the press release said.
The Department of the Interior and the White House did not immediately respond to Benzinga ‘s request for comment Gavin Newsom Says Trump Engaged In Corrupt Deals Quoting Bonta’s post, Newsom slammed Trump for the GSW deal, saying that the President was “wasting millions of taxpayer dollars on corrupt, backroom deals,” which put California’s potential to deliver energy independence provided by offshore wind at risk.
Newsom also asked people to “stay tuned” for further developments.
Donald Trump is wasting millions of taxpayer dollars on corrupt, backroom deals that undo the very energy independence that offshore wind has the potential to deliver for hardworking Californians.
Stay tuned. — Governor Gavin Newsom (@CAgovernor) June 23, 2026 Newsom had earlier also criticized Trump’s decision to restart the Sable Offshore Corp (NYSE: SOC ) pipeline off the Santa Barbara coast in California, which was at the center of controversy following a 2015 oil spill that caused significant environmental damage and was subsequently shut down by authorities.
Trump Admin Sued By New York AG New York Attorney General Letitia James had earlier this month sued the Trump admin over a similar deal with French energy company TotalEnergies SE (NYSE: TTE ), saying that the Trump administration was giving nearly $1 billion to the energy company to divest from offshore wind projects in favor of fossil fuels.
Meanwhile, Sen.
Bernie Sanders (I-VT) recently reaffirmed criticism of Trump over his administration’s pro-fossil fuel stance.
Sanders said that the President was favoring his “big oil friends” while downplaying the climate crisis.
Read Also: Adam Schiff Says Trump Admin Is 'Hellbent On Killing EVs' As California Emissions Fight Escalates Check out more of Benzinga’s Future Of Mobility coverage by following this link.
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