Tong calls the lease buyouts business bribes
William TongConnecticut attorney general
Tong accused the administration of using taxpayer money to pay companies to abandon offshore wind. His office said the deals lacked actual or imminent litigation to justify Judgment Fund payments.
“He is taking our tax dollars for business bribes to block offshore wind”
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
The issuing person or organization explains its position and the actions it took.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Before the quotation
Tong announced lawsuits challenging payments to cancel two offshore-wind leases.
After the quotation
His office disputes whether the agreements qualified for the Judgment Fund.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
He rejects the payments as an abuse of taxpayer money.
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The Dispute Index. "Tong calls the lease buyouts business bribes". First published: 2026-10-01. Last updated: 2026-10-01. https://disputeindex.com/events/4336-tong-accused-the-administration-of-using-taxpayer-money