FERC Must Investigate Trump’s Illegal Shakedown To Force Constitution Gas Pipeline
By Tyson Slocum
Access the full pdf filing here TrumpKnicks
President Donald J. Trump is not one for subtlety. On June 9, 2026, President Trump gave remarks on the tarmac of JFK Airport after game 3 of the National Basketball Association Finals between the New York Knickerbockers and the San Antonio Spurs, where he explicitly confirmed the “deal” he had where the Governor of New York pledged to support two natural gas pipelines—including Constitution—in exchange for the President allowing offshore wind in New York, had been breached by the Governor:
We’re getting held up by the Governor of New York. She made a deal with us to allow us to build it [Constitution pipeline]. And she’s holding it up . . . this is a pipeline that goes very substantially underground that nobody’s going to see . . . we have a Governor that just doesn’t allow it. This has gone on for a long time, and, we made a deal with her, and she broke the deal. We made a deal we were going to give her a couple of windmills someplace, because she likes windmills, which is a big mistake. We made the deal, so I guess we’re withdrawing those windmills. But [in the deal] she gave us two [natural gas pipelines], one going out to Long Island, which is under construction [Northeast Supply Enhancement], and one going to New England [Constitution] . . . So we made a deal with the Governor, and she broke the deal.
Trump repeated the claim two days later in remarks at the White House in response to the question, “Will you put a stop to that [offshore wind], now that [New York Governor] Kathy Hochul broke her deal about [supporting] the [Constitution] pipeline?” President Trump responded: “And she did break her deal . . . and I’m for it [stopping offshore wind], she broke her deal by stopping [the Constitution] pipeline. She wanted to stop a pipeline.”
Politico confirms President Trump entered into a deal with the Governor of New York to allow offshore wind in the state in exchange for her pledge to support two Williams Cos. pipelines, the Northeast Supply Enhancement and Constitution. The fact that the New York Governor denies a deal is irrelevant: the President of the United States personally declared and confirmed that such a deal was made, and the Commission is bound by policy and law to investigate.
Eight days later, the President carried out his June 9 pledge “so I guess we’re withdrawing those windmills”. His Department of Interior announced a settlement agreement where the American taxpayer will pay Invenergy $765 million to not develop three offshore wind projects, of which the company’s 83,976 acre New York Bight lease was the largest.
This is the third settlement agreement since Constitution’s FERC petition where the Trump Administration has targeted New York offshore wind projects for termination. First was on March 23, 2026, when Trump’s settlement agreement forced taxpayers to pay TotalEnergies $928 million to abandon two wind leases, including its offshore New York tract. This was followed by the April 27 settlement agreement that paid BlackRock, EDP Renewables and ENGIE to vacate their Bluepoint Wind project off the coast of New York.
The termination of Invenergy’s offshore is likely just the first of future actions to stop pending or under construction offshore wind projects through these coercive settlement agreements: RWE holds a $1.1 billion lease for its Community Offshore Wind project off the coast of New York; EDF’s $780 million offshore lease for its New York Atlantic Shores project; and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners’ $285 million lease for its wind project offshore of New York are all probable targets for the President’s retribution for Governor Hochul’s refusal to fast-track approval of the Constitution Pipeline.
The Commission breezily dismissed our charge that this quid pro quo arraignment violates the public interest in the sperate proceeding involving Williams’ Northeast Supply Enhancement pipeline:
Public Citizen accuses Transco’s petition of being the result of political pressure, and that, on that basis, a certificate of public convenience and necessity cannot be granted. Public Citizen speculates that there was a quid pro quo involving stopping attacks on New York offshore wind projects and congestion pricing in exchange for New York’s support of the Northeast Supply Enhancement Project. Speculation is not relevant to our determination of whether there is a need for a proposed project and whether the proposed project will serve the public interest. In any event, Transco has submitted precedent agreements along with credible market studies to demonstrate need for the project, consistent with the Certificate Policy Statement.
We find that there is no basis in the record here to depart from the Commission’s general rule that the Commission does not look behind precedent agreements to question individual shippers’ business decisions to enter into contracts, which has been upheld by the courts. Commenters have failed to provide sufficient credible contrary evidence to rebut the record evidence of need as demonstrated by Transco’s precedent agreements for 100% of the project’s capacity.
This time, the Commission cannot dismiss an explicit, clearly stated threat by the President of the United States that he is using the review of the Constitution Pipeline as a bargaining chip over legally-compliant offshore wind projects and leases. The Commission has a solemn, statutory directive from Congress to ensure that natural gas pipelines adhere to the public interest. And a crass political shakedown using Constitution Pipeline as a bludgeon is plainly contrary to the public interest that requires the Commission to look beyond precedent agreements to determine compliance with public necessity.
In light of direct confirmation by the President of the United States that he is punishing the Governor of New York by coercing financial settlements to revoke leased offshore wind, the Commission’s position the quid pro quo is mere “speculation” is untenable. The President’s abuse of Executive Branch authorities to harm New York resource adequacy taints the Commission’s public interest review of Constitution’s petition for a certificate of public convenience and necessity. The clear threat issued by the President of the United States compromises the public interest in this proceeding. The Commission cannot grant the certificate under these conditions until it has completed a full investigation as part of an evidentiary hearing. The Commission must grant our motion to hold the proceeding in abeyance until that investigation in this docket is complete.