Posted on September 12, 2025
House Speaker Mike Johnson said he’s spoken to Cabinet officials in support of an offshore wind project that’s nearly complete.
House Speaker Mike Johnson is going to bat for an offshore wind project located off Virginia Beach at a time when the Trump administration has halted the construction of similar projects and the president himself has warned that support for the industry could cost politicians their careers.
The Louisiana Republican told POLITICO’s E&E News on Tuesday he voiced support to Cabinet secretaries about the nearly complete Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW) project. It’s the largest planned offshore wind venture in the country and has thus far escaped the wrath of the administration.
The speaker was responding to a question about his efforts to relay support for a project important to one of his vulnerable House Republicans from the party’s more moderate wing.
“Yes, I’ve talked to the Trump team and there are ongoing conversations about that,” the speaker said about the project. “I understand the priority for Virginians and we want to do right by them, so we’ll see.”
Last week, Rep. Jen Kiggans (R-Va.), who represents the competitive Virginia Beach district home to the project, raised her concerns with the speaker on the House floor as soon as Congress returned from the August recess. She said it was “important to Virginia” due to its ties with a major Naval base there.
The push from Johnson can be seen as managing the needs of a member of his caucus. But it’s also a break with Trump and his long-running vendetta against wind energy, which many attribute to his failed fight against wind turbines near his seaside golf resort in Scotland.
“Amazing phenomenon — Any Country that relies on Windmills is DEAD,” Trump posted Sunday on Truth Social. “Their Energy Costs have gone through the roof, and their populations are angry. Windmills aren’t only killing the birds, they’re ‘killing’ lots of bad politicians who are losing their jobs because of them!”
That post came after he said at a recent Cabinet meeting: “We’re not allowing any windmills to go up,” adding, “They’re ruining our country.”
His top officials have followed suit. Energy Secretary Chris Wright last Friday said wind energy provides “almost zero” value to the grid if it’s not reliable when demand surges. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum has issued an order to end “special treatment for unreliable energy sources, such as wind.”
And House Republicans — for the most part — have been exceedingly reluctant to defy Trump on issues of all kinds. While a growing number of Republicans say they support renewable power, most voted for the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which throttled wind and solar energy tax credits.
Johnson himself has largely been in lockstep with the president on energy policies, too, promising to eradicate the “Green New Scam” and promote the energy dominance agenda. At the same time, he has worked to thread the needle between different factions in the House.
Kiggans said she approached Johnson “just to let him know that the project is important to Virginia because of its ties to our Navy there.”
It’s also contributing a $500 million power grid update because of a public-private partnership with the naval air station there, she noted. Her staff provided additional materials to his office.
“It’s almost 80 percent complete,” she said of the project, which is led by the utility Dominion Energy. “Ratepayers have already paid for it.”
The White House did not respond to requests for comment for this story.
‘Mere months away’
Kiggans said she and her staff have had calls with representatives from the National Energy Dominance Council and the state’s Republican governor, Glenn Youngkin.
Her position comes after the Trump administration last week canceled a nearly $40 million Department of Transportation grant for Virginia-based Norfolk Offshore Wind Logistics, an industrial plant that would support the project.
“Wasteful, wind projects are using resources that could otherwise go towards revitalizing America’s maritime industry,” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said in a statement.
“Joe Biden and Pete Buttigieg bent over backwards to use transportation dollars for their Green New Scam agenda while ignoring the dire needs of our shipbuilding industry. Thanks to President Trump, we are prioritizing real infrastructure improvements over fantasy wind projects that cost much and offer little.”
Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) blasted the announcement, writing on social media: “Trump hurting Virginia jobs and raising energy costs for everyday folks.”
Trump’s anti-wind crusade shows no signs of slowing. Last week, The New York Times reported that the orders to obstruct the nation’s offshore wind industry were coming from the highest levels of the White House.
Last month, the Trump administration halted work on Revolution Wind off Rhode Island. Earlier this year, the administration issued a stop-work order for Empire Wind in New York but lifted the order after allegedly striking a deal with the state.
But Dominion has marched ahead. In fact, the project is already producing electricity for the grid from two pilot turbines, which were permitted during Trump’s first term, according to information provided by Kiggans’ office. Already, 161 of 176 monopiles, or foundations, have been installed. And in the coming weeks, the turbines themselves will be installed.
“The project is mere months away from generating electricity into Virginia which has record demand growth due to data centers,” according to information from Dominion. “We have contracts for all the parts and components needed … and those will be paid for by the Virginia customers regardless if the project is stopped.”
“Infrastructure needs are great across the board,” Kiggans said. “So that’s why we’ve been very strong.”
