When President Donald Trump moved to cancel offshore wind projects along the East Coast, it did not stay within environmental-policy debates. In Virginia—where one of the targeted initiatives involves a major, locally staged construction effort—Republican lawmakers who have sought to protect district interests found themselves responding to a broader political fight inside the GOP.
The conflict surfaced publicly after Trump tried to halt five large offshore wind projects still under construction. The effort drew criticism not only from environmental groups but also from lawmakers who signed onto a letter to administration officials, asking for an explanation, as nine House Republicans warned that the approach risked colliding with cost and job concerns tied to the projects.
One of the signatories was Rep. Jen Kiggans, a Republican who represents a coastal Virginia district where the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project is expected to deliver economic benefits. The AP report said the wind farm is expected to create 1,000 jobs and has a projected cost of $11.5 billion. Kiggans’ support for an initiative targeted by Trump, the report said, reflects scrambled clean-energy politics in an election year where Republicans are facing pressure in the House.
The stakes for Kiggans have also shifted through redistricting. The report said Virginia voters on Tuesday approved a new congressional map that made Kiggans’ district more Democratic than before, potentially altering the competitiveness of her reelection effort. Her opponent, Elaine Luria—a former congresswoman seeking the Democratic nomination in the 2nd Congressional District—criticized Kiggans’ approach, saying, “Her advocacy did nothing,” and she framed Trump’s energy push as overwhelming local efforts.
The report said Kiggans did not respond to requests for comment. It also described how Trump has treated energy policy as part of broader cultural disputes, including frequent references to hostility toward wind power. The AP story cited Trump’s social media characterization of “windmills” and said the administration issued an executive order on the first day of his second term blocking wind projects, while Trump has insisted that “smart countries” do not use wind power.
Trump’s stance has also extended beyond wind to other clean-energy development. The report said he has criticized solar farms as well, describing them as large and visible. It also said the administration agreed to pay $1 billion to a French company to end two U.S. offshore wind leases and instead invest in oil and natural gas projects.
In addition to the attempted cancellation of offshore wind projects, Kiggans has faced Democratic criticism over clean-energy tax policy. The AP report said Kiggans voted in favor of Republican legislation to gut clean energy tax credits as part of Trump’s broader tax and spending bill, even though she has portrayed herself as a renewable-energy champion. Democrats have used that vote in campaign ads, and Luria said the position undercuts Kiggans’ attempt to “sell herself as if she’s a moderate,” saying, “Kiggans voted for a bill to make energy more expensive.”
Kiggans addressed the July vote in a Facebook post, according to the AP report. She wrote that her vote “wasn’t about politics — it was about overall results” and said she cast her ballot “on the One Big Beautiful Bill Act” because it delivers “permanent tax relief for families & small businesses,” rebuilds the Navy, and invests in national defense. A political science professor, Stephen Farnsworth of the University of Mary Washington, told the AP that front-line Republicans in coastal Virginia face a difficult position as Trump focuses on his own priorities and the country confronts economic headwinds.
Farnsworth also said that while few want to risk upsetting the president, in coastal Virginia politics “there’s not much upside to opposing wind.” The AP report contrasted the offshore-wind backlash with another congressional dispute involving Rep. Tom Kean Jr., R-N.J., saying Trump tried to block federal funding for the Gateway Tunnel and that a judge ordered the administration to restore money after leaders in New Jersey and New York went to court.
For the wind projects themselves, the report said the Virginia effort has continued despite Trump’s broader campaign, citing federal court rulings. It described how the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project spans about 27 miles (43 kilometers) offshore, making it hard to view from land. The report said Dominion Energy, which operates the project, delivered its first power to the grid last month, and that the project first announced in 2013 is expected to create 1,000 jobs and generate about $2 billion in economic activity, according to the company.
Once finished, the AP report said the project could deliver 2.6 gigawatts of power to the grid, enough to supply more than 660,000 homes. It added that the timing overlaps with Virginia’s growing energy demand, including demand tied to an expanding hub of artificial intelligence data centers. Andrew Nissman, a spokesman for the Hampton Roads Workforce Council that has trained workers for the project, told the AP, “There’s an opportunity here for Hampton Roads to be a national leader in offshore wind,” and he declined to comment on the congressional race, saying, “as with any stop-and-start challenge, it’s important the project is moving forward.”
Labor and environmental partners continued to tie the politics to the construction schedule. Dan Taylor, the southeast regional field manager for the BlueGreen Alliance, told the AP that Kiggans “nearly cost her constituents this project by standing with an administration dead set on dismantling the offshore wind industry and voting to repeal critical clean energy tax credits last year.” Taylor added, “Kiggans claims to prioritize jobs, lower energy costs for Virginians and reducing emissions,” but said she “voted to kill jobs, skyrocket energy costs to families and increase the emissions driving climate change.”