Governor McKee, Congressional Delegation, Union Leaders Condemn Trump Administration’s Attempt to Derail Multibillion-Dollar Revolution Wind Project Nearing Completion
Published on Monday, August 25, 2025
Rhode Island leaders stand up for local jobs and the state’s affordable energy future
NORTH KINGSTOWN, RI – Today, Governor Dan McKee was joined by Rhode Island’s Congressional Delegation, labor leaders, and union workers to condemn the Trump Administration’s reckless stop-work order halting construction on Revolution Wind--a multibillion dollar offshore wind development that is 80% complete (with 506 megawatts installed of the 704 megawatt system) and critical to the region's economy and energy future. The Trump administration’s effort to abruptly halt the project threatens thousands of local jobs, jeopardizes hundreds of millions of dollars in economic investment, and would increase electricity prices and impact grid reliability across New England.
Governor McKee, U.S. Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse;, Congressmen Seth Magaziner and Gabe Amo, Michael Sabitoni, who serves as LIUNA General Secretary-Treasurer and President of the Rhode Island Building and Construction Trades Council;, Patrick Crowley, President of the Rhode Island AFL-CIO and Co-chair of Climate Jobs RI; Rachel Miller, Chief External Relations Officer at Building Futures; and dozens of union workers and advocates attended the event held at Quonset, home to Ørsted’s Regional Offshore Wind Logistics and Operations Hub and several Rhode Island-built crew transfer vessels supporting the project.
"We need the Trump Administration to understand that this stop-work order on Revolution Wind is an attack on the jobs of hard-working Rhode Islanders, on our ability to access reliable and affordable energy, and on our families who are struggling to pay high utility bills,” said Governor McKee. “Stopping this work just before the finish line—that is an attack on our economy.”
Despite the project being 80% complete, with all foundations installed and 45 of 65 turbines standing (with 506 megawatts installed of the 704-megawatt system), the U.S. Department of the Interior abruptly ordered work to stop on Revolution Wind last Friday. The project that has been under development since 2018 has already received every required federal and state permit, following a multi-year review process, including final approval of its Construction and Operations Plan.
This action immediately threw hundreds of workers out of work, with thousands more jobs across New England at risk if construction remains stalled. To date, Revolution Wind has supported over 1,000 union jobs and 2 million labor union hours, while driving $20 billion in national clean energy investment by Ørsted across more than 40 states.
“Instead of working to lower prices, President Trump’s decision here will do the opposite. Hiding behind a false claim of 'national security' in order to favor big oil and gas companies is the epitome of President Trump’s cynical abuses of power and rigging the system,” said U.S. Senator Jack Reed. “Offshore wind is an inexhaustible source of energy, and together, so are we. We’re fighting for justice, for lower prices, for people’s livelihoods, and for a cleaner, healthier future for our kids – and together we’ll prevail. It's said: ‘The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails.’ And the innovator harnesses the wind to cost-effectively power the future. We’ve made too much progress to turn back now. President Trump must reverse his reckless order or suffer the legal blowback.”
“Republicans used to say the government shouldn’t pick winners and losers in the marketplace — until their desperate fossil fuel donors came calling, and Trump started using the power of government to crush fossil fuel’s clean energy rivals. This market manipulation will cost jobs and millions of dollars of investment in Rhode Island’s offshore wind industry,” said U.S. Senator Whitehouse, Ranking Member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. “Wind power is one of the fastest, cheapest ways to meet rising electricity demand — discouraging clean energy will raise energy prices and worsen the looming climate crisis — but payback to fossil fuel donors comes first. This is what corruption looks like.”
“The Trump Administration is putting America last by stalling a project that will produce low-cost American-made energy,” said Congressman Seth Magaziner, Member of the House Natural Resources Committee. “The biggest winners from this move are countries like Saudi Arabia, from whom we will have to buy more oil, and the losers are Rhode Islanders, who are paying more on their electric bills, and trades workers who have been put in the unemployment line as a result of this reckless action
“I’m proud to link arms with leaders in our state to stand against Donald Trump’s reckless action that forces union workers out of work and hikes energy prices,” said Congressman Gabe Amo. “I will not be silent in the face of the weaponization of the federal government to disrupt clean energy investments that will lower costs for Rhode Islanders and advance solutions to the climate crisis.”
Once completed, Revolution Wind will power 350,000 homes in Rhode Island and Connecticut with reliable, affordable, union-built energy. The project also underpins nearly $1.3 billion in state investment, new shipbuilding jobs, and critical upgrades to Rhode Island’s ports, shipyards, and supply chain.
“The Trump Administration’s stop-work order on Revolution Wind isn’t just paperwork; it’s lost paychecks. Hundreds of union tradespeople who were on the job last week are now out of work, with no certainty about when they’ll be able to return. For construction workers, predictability is everything. Every day we’re on the job, we’re building toward a middle-class life; every day we’re sidelined, families are left wondering how to pay the mortgage or put food on the table,” said Michael Sabitoni, LIUNA General Secretary-Treasurer and RI Building and Construction Trades Council President. "This project was fully permitted, 80% complete, and already delivering thousands of good union jobs. Halting it now is a devastating blow to workers and their families who did everything right, and it threatens the future of an entire industry that Rhode Island helped pioneer.”
“This is an intentional gutting of local energy infrastructure that Rhode Island is relying on in a time of growing energy demand. The Trump Administration has chosen to pull the rug out from under a local workforce that has committed to building America’s homegrown energy infrastructure, right here in the Ocean State,” said Patrick Crowley, President of the Rhode Island AFL-CIO. “This work stoppage is a betrayal of Rhode Island’s working class. Our local trades members poured millions of hours into this project over the last decade, only to see it sabotaged for purely political gain. Stopping Revolution Wind doesn’t just kill jobs, it undermines our energy security, raises costs for families, and abandons the very people who are building our state’s future.”
This work stoppage threatens not only local jobs and energy affordability but also critical training and career pathways for local tradespeople. From the Global Wind Organization certification program at the Community College of Rhode Island to the hundreds of workers who have already received specialized training to prepare for lifelong careers in offshore wind, those futures hang in the balance from this stop-work order.
“Offshore wind represents not only a critical component of our state’s clean energy future, but also a pathway to family-sustaining careers for Rhode Islanders,” said CCRI President Rosemary A. Costigan, Ph.D., RN. “CCRI is proud to be home to the state’s only Global Wind Organisation (GWO) Basic Safety Training facility, a program that has trained nearly 200 Rhode Islanders for offshore wind jobs. The administration’s decision raises real questions about what this means for workers who have prepared for these jobs, for companies that have invested in this sector, and for institutions like CCRI that have built capacity to meet these needs.”
The leaders vowed to continue pressing for a reversal of the order, to allow the thousands of union workers depending on this project to return to work and carry out the completion of Revolution Wind by 2026 as originally planned.
“On Friday, hundreds of dedicated union trades members left the job site building Revolution Wind with the pride that comes from doing world-class work. Today, those same men and women are out of a job because of this reckless stop-work order. These are highly skilled tradespeople who trained, worked hard, and relied on the certainty of this project to support their families. For construction workers, unpredictability means unemployment, plain and simple,” said Donato A. Bianco, Jr., LIUNA Vice President and New England Regional Manager. “This decision doesn’t just shut down a project, it abandons real people who have dedicated their lives to building our critical infrastructure and strengthening our economy.”
“IBEW members have been volunteering to put people’s lives back together after countless weather calamities. From Katrina to Sandy to the wildfires in many parts of our great Nation. You don’t have to be a scientist to know what the experts have proven is accurate. All you have to do is open your eyes. Our membership is deeply concerned about what world we will leave for our children and their children. The jobs are important, and this latest attack on Union members will certainly harm our membership; however, this is more than jobs for us,” said Joseph Walsh Jr., Business Manager of IBEW Local Union 99. “Our members have stepped up to install this critical infrastructure even though in many cases they could earn more back home. They do it because they are smart enough to know this must be done, it must be done now, and any delay will cost the livelihood and even the lives of those we share this earth with. I know one person wanted to shut this down because he feels they are ugly. Last I checked, a coal power plant is not all that attractive, but they don’t tend to be built in view of a golf course, which I imagine is the actual reason to delay any action to preserve this incredible place we call home.”
“The Revolution Wind Project has provided opportunities for members of the Ironworkers to earn a family-supporting union wage, with benefits. The Trump Administration's abrupt halt to the Revolution Wind project creates uncertainty for dozens of members and their families, especially during these tough economic times,” said David Langlais, Business Manager of Ironworkers Local 37 and Vice President of the RI Building and Construction Trades Council. “We urge BOEM and the Trump Administration to quickly reverse their decision.”
“Orsted has made a great-faith effort to partner with the State, the business community, and the local Building Trades to develop this project and to create an industry that will benefit Rhode Island, particularly the local trades workforce. This unnecessary work stoppage is an ominous and terrifying kitchen-table issue for tradespersons and their families who earn their living building our much-needed energy infrastructure,” said Dennis Lassige, Regional Manager, Southern New England, NASRCC. “How can we retain and attract a new generation of trades workers when the federal government abruptly and irresponsibly acts in a way that jeopardizes their livelihoods? BOEM’s actions regarding this order are dangerous and are clearly designed to intentionally sow uncertainty and increase cost to this project and the industry at large, all to satisfy a political agenda. For Carpenters, Piledrivers, Millwrights, and all the trades, and the many other stakeholders in this project, this is insulting and maddening to say the least.”
“Revolution Wind provides a unique opportunity to connect adults experiencing poverty with high-quality family-sustaining careers. The project’s commitment to registered apprenticeship ensures that as we build the infrastructure for domestic energy, we are building the construction workforce necessary to meet demand and create lasting economic opportunities for hundreds of Rhode Island workers,” said Andrew Cortés, President and CEO of Building Futures RI.
“The Revolution Wind project has been under development by Rhode Island and Connecticut for over 7 years, and a significant amount of permitting and regulatory work has gone into this project at both the state and federal level, in addition to the tremendous work of different labor unions involved in the installation and work at the respective Rhode Island and Connecticut ports,” said Acting Office of Energy Resources Commissioner Chris Kearns. “This project plays an important role in diversifying and improving our region's long-term energy resource needs, improves infrastructure reliability during summer and winter peak periods, and meets our obligations with Act on Climate.”