Lawsuit also filed over administration\u2019s cuts to health and human services that destroy life-saving programs<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A coalition of Democratic state attorneys general sued on Monday in an attempt to block Donald Trump\u2019s move to suspend leasing and permitting of new wind projects, saying it threatens to cripple the wind industry and a key source of clean energy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Seventeen states and the District of Columbia argued, in a lawsuit filed in federal court in Boston, that the decision by the Republican president\u2019s administration to indefinitely pause all federal wind-energy approvals was unlawful and must be blocked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trump announced the pause on his first day back in office on 20 January when he directed his administration to halt offshore wind lease sales and stop the issuance of permits, leases and loans for both onshore and offshore wind projects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis administration is devastating one of our nation\u2019s fastest-growing sources of clean, reliable and affordable energy,\u201d the New York attorney general, Letitia James, a Democrat, said in a statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The lawsuit seeks a court order declaring the indefinite pause unlawful and barring the agencies including the US Departments of Commerce and Interior and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from implementing Trump\u2019s directive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Meanwhile, attorneys general in 19 states and DC are challenging cuts to the US Health and Human Services (HHS) agency, saying the Trump administration\u2019s massive restructuring has destroyed life-saving programs and left states to pick up the bill for mounting health crises, the Associated Press reported. The health secretary, Robert F Kennedy Jr, restructured the agency in March, eliminating more than 10,000 employees and collapsing 28 agencies under the sprawling HHS umbrella into 15, the attorneys general said. An additional 10,000 employees had already been let go by the Trump\u2019s administration, according to the lawsuit, and combined the cuts stripped 25% of the HHS workforce.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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<\/strong>The lawsuit was filed in federal court in Rhode Island on Monday, the New York attorney general said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n