Whitehouse says it is "black letter law" that the Judgment Fund could not pay TotalEnergies
Sheldon WhitehouseU.S. Senator, Ranking Member, Committee on Environment and Public Works
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, in a letter opening a Senate Environment and Public Works Committee investigation, cited Justice Department and GAO precedent to argue the Judgment Fund was not legally available to pay TotalEnergies because there was no imminent litigation to settle.
“it is black letter law that the government may not use the Fund to pay Total”
Official statement
Where this statement fits
Did the Interior Department's offshore wind lease-cancellation payments comply with the Judgment Fund Act?
Beginning in March 2026, the U.S. Department of the Interior announced a series of agreements paying offshore wind developers TotalEnergies, Invenergy, and Bluepoint Wind a combined total of more than $2.3 billion to cancel seven offshore wind leases and redirect the money into oil, gas, and other conventional energy projects. Interior and the Department of Justice have said the payments were reviewed and approved settlements and dollar-for-dollar refunds that no company was forced to accept. Seven state attorneys general sued in June 2026; joined by an eighth, Delaware, and separately by California, they filed four federal lawsuits between June and September 2026 arguing the payments violate the Judgment Fund Act, 31 U.S.C. 1304, because no actual or imminent litigation existed to settle and because compensation for a canceled lease is otherwise available under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act. Members of Congress, including Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse and Rep. Deborah Ross, sent separate oversight letters demanding records on the legal basis for the payments. TotalEnergies CEO Patrick Pouyanne has said the payment returns money the company itself gave the Treasury in 2022, a characterization Interior Secretary Doug Burgum echoed by calling it an "interest-free loan" being repaid.
Source and context
Official statement
About this source
Letter from the ranking member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee opening an investigation into the TotalEnergies settlement's compliance with the Judgment Fund Act.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Before the quotation
Whitehouse wrote to TotalEnergies CEO Patrick Pouyanne seeking documents and answers about the negotiation of the settlement and the source of the funds used to pay the company.
After the quotation
Whitehouse asked TotalEnergies to confirm by April 23, 2026 whether the Treasury Secretary had certified the payment as required by statute.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
Whitehouse concludes the payment was legally unavailable under the Judgment Fund Act, applying GAO and DOJ Office of Legal Counsel precedent to the facts of the TotalEnergies deal and rejecting its legality.
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- People and groups discussed
- TotalEnergies, U.S. Department of the Interior
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The Dispute Index. "Whitehouse says it is "black letter law" that the Judgment Fund could not pay TotalEnergies". First published: 2026-09-28. Last updated: 2026-09-28. https://disputeindex.com/events/3152-sen-sheldon-whitehouse-in-a-letter-opening-a