(WASHINGTON) — Former Nebraska Sen. Ben Sasse shared on Tuesday that he has been diagnosed with advanced pancreatic cancer.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
(WASHINGTON) — After the Department of Justice released thousands of files related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein in a tranche on Friday that included a number of decades-old photographs of former President Bill Clinton, a spokesperson for Clinton on Monday called on all of the files relating to Clinton to be released.
In a statement, Clinton spokesperson Angel Ureña accused the DOJ of using the selective release of Epstein documents to imply wrongdoing where there is none, challenging the department to immediately release any remaining materials mentioning or showing Bill Clinton in the files.
Ureña, a spokesperson for Clinton, wrote on Monday that the content and method of how the Department of Justice has released files makes it “clear” that “someone or something is being protected.”
“We do not know whom, what or why,” Ureña wrote. “But we do know this: We need no such protection.”
“Accordingly, we call on President Trump to direct Attorney General Bondi to immediately release any remaining materials referring to, mentioning, or containing a photograph of Bill Clinton,” Ureña added.
Ureña alleged that if the Department of Justice does not do so, it would confirm suspicions that the Department is releasing data selectively to “to imply wrongdoing about individuals who have already been repeatedly cleared by the very same Department of Justice, over many years, under Presidents and Attorneys General of both parties.”
The initial release of the files on Friday contained numerous old photos of Epstein traveling with Clinton, including pictures of Clinton lounging in a jacuzzi and one of him swimming with Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell, who is serving a 20-year prison sentence after her 2021 conviction for sex trafficking of minors and other offenses.
The images were released without any context or background information.
On Friday, Ureña had written in a statement, “The White House hasn’t been hiding these files for months only to dump them late on a Friday to protect Bill Clinton. This is about shielding themselves from what comes next, or from what they’ll try and hide forever. So they can release as many grainy 20-plus-year-old photos as they want, but this isn’t about Bill Clinton. Never has, never will be.”
The Department of Justice has defended both its process and timing in releasing the files, saying in a statement on Sunday that more than 200 lawyers were working “around the clock” to review files for release.
“The Department of Justice is committed to transparency and redacting only what is legally required,” the department said in a statement. “The Department is required by law to redact identifying information about the victims, minors, or potential victims, as well as privileged material. NO redactions have been or will be made to protect famous individuals or politically exposed persons.”
A law signed by President Donald Trump in November required all the files related to federal investigations into the disgraced financier to be released by Friday, Dec. 19. The department has been releasing files since that deadline, but did not fully meet that deadline in releasing all Epstein-related materials, and what has been released so far is a fraction of the files.
The DOJ has faced backlash from victims and from lawmakers for the slow rollout of the files. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, in an appearance on Sunday on NBC’s Meet the Press with Kristen Welker, defended the department’s slow release of the files, saying they wanted to continue to review documents to “protect victims.”
“It’s very simple and very clear: the statute also requires us to protect victims, and so the reason why we are still reviewing documents and still continuing our process is simply that — to protect victims… we’re going through a very methodical process with hundreds of lawyers looking at every single document and making sure that victims’ names and any of the information from victims is protected and redacted,” Blanche said.
Some of Epstein’s victims and their lawyers have also said redactions in the files released have not been sufficient and that some victims’ identities have been exposed. On Sunday, two attorneys who represent more than 200 survivors of Epstein and his convicted co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell told ABC News that they had been hearing from clients who have seen their names or other identifying information in un-redacted documents in the DOJ’s disclosure.
Clinton has not been accused of wrongdoing and denies having any knowledge of Epstein’s crimes. No Epstein survivor or associate has ever made a public allegation of wrongdoing or inappropriate behavior by Clinton in connection with his prior relationship with Epstein.
The former president traveled with Epstein several times, according to flight logs from Epstein’s private jets that were made public during civil litigation against Epstein. Those logs showed that Clinton and his entourage had taken four international sojourns in 2002 and 2003 on the financier’s Boeing 727 to locations including Bangkok, Brunei, Rwanda, Russia, China and elsewhere.
President Donald Trump, on Monday, was asked whether he was surprised by the number of photos of Clinton in the files.
Trump said he has always gotten along with Bill Clinton and added, “I hate to see photos come out of him, but this is what the Democrats, mostly Democrats and a couple of bad Republicans are asking for. So, they’ve given their photos of me too. Everybody was friendly with this guy [Epstein]. Either friendly or not friendly, but you know, he was around. He was all over Palm Beach and other places.”
(Trump himself has denied having any knowledge of Epstein’s alleged crimes and said at the time of Epstein’s arrest in 2019 that they hadn’t spoken in 15 years; he has also spoken about kicking Epstein out of Mar-a-Lago.)
The Democrats on the House Oversight Committee released photos earlier this month, prior to the Department of Justice’s releases, that also showed Epstein or Maxwell with Clinton and others, including Trump, Woody Allen, Bill Gates, Steve Bannon, former Prince Andrew and billionaire Richard Branson, among others.
The context, time frame and location of the photographs are unclear.
ABC News’ James Hill and Katherine Faulders contributed to this report.
Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
(WASHINGTON) — After the Department of Justice released thousands of files related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein in a tranche on Friday that included a number of decades-old photographs of former President Bill Clinton, a spokesperson for Clinton on Monday called on all of the files relating to Clinton to be released.
In a statement, Clinton spokesperson Angel Ureña accused the DOJ of using the selective release of Epstein documents to imply wrongdoing where there is none, challenging the department to immediately release any remaining materials mentioning or showing Bill Clinton in the files.
Ureña, a spokesperson for Clinton, wrote on Monday that the content and method of how the Department of Justice has released files makes it “clear” that “someone or something is being protected.”
“We do not know whom, what or why,” Ureña wrote. “But we do know this: We need no such protection.”
“Accordingly, we call on President Trump to direct Attorney General Bondi to immediately release any remaining materials referring to, mentioning, or containing a photograph of Bill Clinton,” Ureña added.
Ureña alleged that if the Department of Justice does not do so, it would confirm suspicions that the Department is releasing data selectively to “to imply wrongdoing about individuals who have already been repeatedly cleared by the very same Department of Justice, over many years, under Presidents and Attorneys General of both parties.”
The initial release of the files on Friday contained numerous old photos of Epstein traveling with Clinton, including pictures of Clinton lounging in a jacuzzi and one of him swimming with Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell, who is serving a 20-year prison sentence after her 2021 conviction for sex trafficking of minors and other offenses.
The images were released without any context or background information.
On Friday, Ureña had written in a statement, “The White House hasn’t been hiding these files for months only to dump them late on a Friday to protect Bill Clinton. This is about shielding themselves from what comes next, or from what they’ll try and hide forever. So they can release as many grainy 20-plus-year-old photos as they want, but this isn’t about Bill Clinton. Never has, never will be.”
The Department of Justice has defended both its process and timing in releasing the files, saying in a statement on Sunday that more than 200 lawyers were working “around the clock” to review files for release.
“The Department of Justice is committed to transparency and redacting only what is legally required,” the department said in a statement. “The Department is required by law to redact identifying information about the victims, minors, or potential victims, as well as privileged material. NO redactions have been or will be made to protect famous individuals or politically exposed persons.”
A law signed by President Donald Trump in November required all the files related to federal investigations into the disgraced financier to be released by Friday, Dec. 19. The department has been releasing files since that deadline, but did not fully meet that deadline in releasing all Epstein-related materials, and what has been released so far is a fraction of the files.
The DOJ has faced backlash from victims and from lawmakers for the slow rollout of the files. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, in an appearance on Sunday on NBC’s Meet the Press with Kristen Welker, defended the department’s slow release of the files, saying they wanted to continue to review documents to “protect victims.”
“It’s very simple and very clear: the statute also requires us to protect victims, and so the reason why we are still reviewing documents and still continuing our process is simply that — to protect victims… we’re going through a very methodical process with hundreds of lawyers looking at every single document and making sure that victims’ names and any of the information from victims is protected and redacted,” Blanche said.
Some of Epstein’s victims and their lawyers have also said redactions in the files released have not been sufficient and that some victims’ identities have been exposed. On Sunday, two attorneys who represent more than 200 survivors of Epstein and his convicted co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell told ABC News that they had been hearing from clients who have seen their names or other identifying information in un-redacted documents in the DOJ’s disclosure.
Clinton has not been accused of wrongdoing and denies having any knowledge of Epstein’s crimes. No Epstein survivor or associate has ever made a public allegation of wrongdoing or inappropriate behavior by Clinton in connection with his prior relationship with Epstein.
The former president traveled with Epstein several times, according to flight logs from Epstein’s private jets that were made public during civil litigation against Epstein. Those logs showed that Clinton and his entourage had taken four international sojourns in 2002 and 2003 on the financier’s Boeing 727 to locations including Bangkok, Brunei, Rwanda, Russia, China and elsewhere.
President Donald Trump, on Monday, was asked whether he was surprised by the number of photos of Clinton in the files.
Trump said he has always gotten along with Bill Clinton and added, “I hate to see photos come out of him, but this is what the Democrats, mostly Democrats and a couple of bad Republicans are asking for. So, they’ve given their photos of me too. Everybody was friendly with this guy [Epstein]. Either friendly or not friendly, but you know, he was around. He was all over Palm Beach and other places.”
(Trump himself has denied having any knowledge of Epstein’s alleged crimes and said at the time of Epstein’s arrest in 2019 that they hadn’t spoken in 15 years; he has also spoken about kicking Epstein out of Mar-a-Lago.)
The Democrats on the House Oversight Committee released photos earlier this month, prior to the Department of Justice’s releases, that also showed Epstein or Maxwell with Clinton and others, including Trump, Woody Allen, Bill Gates, Steve Bannon, former Prince Andrew and billionaire Richard Branson, among others.
The context, time frame and location of the photographs are unclear.
ABC News’ James Hill and Katherine Faulders contributed to this report.
Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
(NEW YORK) — This year is expected to be the busiest on record for holiday travel, but rough weather can make getting to your Christmas destination even harder.
As a life-threatening storm heads to California, here’s a look at the Christmas week weather forecast:
Tuesday
Snow is falling in the Northeast on Tuesday. Up to 1 inch of snow is possible along the Interstate 95 corridor from New York City to Boston, but that snow may not accumulate much at all.
While New York City won’t have a white Christmas, this snowfall will bring a white Christmas to inland New England. Up to 6 inches of snow is possible in upstate New York, Vermont and New Hampshire, while more than 6 inches is possible in parts of Maine.
In Southern California, those driving to their Christmas destination should try to head out the door during the day on Tuesday, because a dangerous storm will move in with heavy rain on Tuesday night and continue through Wednesday.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom has mobilized state resources ahead of the storm and some residents are under evacuation warnings.
Wednesday
On Christmas Eve, the weather will be calm across most of the country — but not for California.
Residents of Southern California — including densely-populated Los Angeles County — are bracing for an 18-hour-long downpour on Wednesday that’ll bring life-threatening flooding.
Four to 7 inches of rain is forecast, and some areas could even top 9 inches. This is an incredible amount of rain over an area that usually records 2.4 inches of rain in the month of December.
Wind gusts could reach 70 mph from Tuesday to Thursday.
Residents should be prepared for significant road flooding, rising rivers and mudslides and rockslides as the debris flow could impact recent burn scar areas.
Those traveling for Christmas should expect road closures and flight delays.
Thursday
On Christmas Day, record high temperatures are possible for millions from the Midwest to the South.
Temperatures are forecast to soar to record highs of 66 degrees in Albuquerque, New Mexico; 71 degrees in Rapid City, South Dakota; 79 degrees in Midland, Texas; 78 degrees in Tulsa, Oklahoma; and 75 degrees in Atlanta.
While not record highs, temperatures could also jump to 80 degrees in Austin and Houston, 79 degrees in Miami and Orlando, Florida, and 75 degrees in Memphis, Tennessee.
One of the only parts of the country that has a good chance for a white Christmas is inland New England, where the snow from Tuesday could linger on the ground through Christmas Day.
Some mountainous areas in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Colorado and California will also see a white Christmas.
Meanwhile, the rough weather will continue for California, with another round of rain on Christmas Day. The ground in Southern California will be so vulnerable at that point from Wednesday’s rain, so the new round of rain could trigger renewed flooding, landslides and debris flows.
Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
(NEW YORK) — The U.S. economy expanded more than economists expected over a recent three-month period, recording robust growth despite concerns about sluggish hiring and cash-strappped shoppers, federal government data on Tuesday showed.
The U.S. economy grew at an annualized rate of 4.3% in the third quarter in the government’s initial estimate, marking an acceleration from 3.8% growth recorded in the previous quarter.
A boost in consumer spending helped propel the economic surge in gross domestic product (GDP) over three months ending in September, the U.S. Commerce Department said. Consumer spending, which accounts for about two-thirds of U.S. economic activity, is a key bellwether for the outlook of the nation’s economy.
The GDP reading stemmed in part from a rise in exports and a drop-off in imports, which may have resulted from tariffs issued earlier this year by President Donald Trump.
The government’s GDP formula subtracts imports in an effort to exclude foreign production from the calculation of total goods and services.
The strong economic growth in the third quarter appeared to defy fears about the sluggish labor market, which some observers have viewed as a warning sign for the wider economy.
Hiring slowed sharply in recent months. The unemployment rate ticked up to 4.6% in November from 4.4% in September. Unemployment remains low by historical standards but has inched up to its highest level since 2021.
Meanwhile, inflation has hovered nearly a percentage point higher than the Federal Reserve’s target rate of 2%.
Those conditions have put the Fed in a bind, since the central bank must balance a dual mandate to keep inflation under control and maximize employment. To address pressure on both of its goals, the Fed primarily holds a single tool: interest rates.
Earlier this month, the Fed cut its benchmark interest rate a quarter of a percentage point in an effort to boost hiring. The move amounted to the third rate cut this year, bringing the Fed’s benchmark rate to a level between 3.5% and 3.75%.
Interest rates have dropped significantly from a recent peak attained in 2023, but borrowing costs remain well above a 0% rate established at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
(NEW YORK) — Brown University is moving forward with a series of safety and security steps following the deadly shooting on campus this month that left two students dead and nine others injured.
The Ivy League university’s announcement comes the same day the Department of Education announced it would be reviewing the school for potential Clery Act violations.
Brown University’s review includes putting Rodney Chatman, the vice president for public safety and emergency management for the school on leave, effective immediately, the university’s president announced on Monday.
The former chief of police of the Providence Police Department, Hugh T. Clements, will serve as interim chief.
In a message to the campus community, President Christina H. Paxson said the university will first focus on immediate safety measures through a rapid response team working to ensure the campus remains secure during winter break and ahead of the Spring 2026 semester.
The university will also hire outside experts to conduct an after-action review of the shooting. That review will examine campus safety conditions leading up to the incident, how the university prepared for and responded on the day of the shooting, and how emergency response efforts were handled afterward.
The Department of Education said on Monday its Office of Federal Student Aid will investigate if Brown violated Section 485(f) of the Higher Education Act, otherwise known as the Jeanne Clery Campus Safety Act, which requires institutions of higher education to meet certain campus safety and security-related requirements as a condition of receiving federal student aid.
“The Department is initiating a review of Brown to determine if it has upheld its obligation under the law to vigilantly maintain campus security,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon in a statement. “Students deserve to feel safe at school, and every university across this nation must protect their students and be equipped with adequate resources to aid law enforcement.”
“The Trump Administration will fight to ensure that recipients of federal funding are vigorously protecting students’ safety and following security procedures as required under federal law,” McMahon added.
The Clery Act requires colleges and universities receiving federal student aid to annually share a report on campus crime and details about the efforts taken to improve campus safety, “including timely issuance of campus alerts and safety procedures to the campus community,” according to the Dept. of Education
The Department said it can fine universities that have violated the Clery Act and “may require them to make policy changes to come into compliance with the law.”
In the statement on Monday, Brown University also announced it will launch a comprehensive external safety and security assessment of its campus. The review will look at existing policies, procedures, training and security infrastructure, including building access, cameras, and other safety technology. The assessment will build on security improvements already underway.
Both reviews will be overseen by a committee of the Corporation of Brown University, which will approve the outside organizations conducting the work. University leaders said they plan to share key findings with the campus community and the public.
Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
(LONDON) — Russia launched a “massive” drone and missile strike on Ukraine overnight into Tuesday morning, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a post to Telegram, prompting power outages in several regions around the country, according to the Energy Ministry in Kyiv.
Ukraine’s air force said Russia launched 635 drones and 38 missiles into the country overnight, of which 587 drones and 34 missiles were shot down or suppressed. The impacts of missiles and drones were reported across 21 locations, the air force said.
Monday’s night’s attack was the largest Russian combined strike since Dec. 6, according to Ukrainian air force data analyzed by ABC News, and the third largest of the war to date.
Zelenskyy said Russia was “primarily targeting our energy sector, civilian infrastructure and literally all aspects of daily life.”
At least three people were killed — one person in Kyiv, one in Khmelnytskyi and a 4-year-old child in Zhytomyr — Zelenskyy said. At least 13 regions were targeted, he added. Local officials reported that at least 11 people were also injured across Ukraine.
The Energy Ministry said in a post to Telegram that “emergency power cuts have been introduced in a number of regions of Ukraine. As soon as the security situation allows, rescue workers and energy specialists will begin to repair the damage caused by the attack in order to restore power supply to the regions as quickly as possible.”
“Emergency power cuts will be lifted once the situation in the power grid has stabilized,” the ministry added.
Zelenskyy said the attack “sends an extremely clear signal about Russia’s priorities” as representatives from the warring parties engage in the latest round of U.S.-sponsored shuttle diplomacy intended to secure a peace deal.
“The attack comes just before Christmas, when people want to be with their families, at home, in safety,” he wrote. “The attack actually comes at the height of negotiations aimed at ending this war.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin, Zelenskyy said, “simply cannot accept the need to stop killing.”
“This means that the world is not putting enough pressure on Russia,” he added. “We need to react now. We need to push Russia towards peace and guaranteed security.” Zelenskyy also called for “air defense for Ukraine, funding for arms purchases, the supply of energy equipment” to help blunt Russian attacks.
Ukraine continued its own long-range strike campaign overnight, with the Russian Defense Ministry reporting the downing of at least 44 drones.
Airports in Volgograd, Grozny, Magas and Vladikavkaz were temporarily closed amid the attacks, according to Russia’s federal air transport agency, Rosaviatsiya.
In the Stavropol region, Gov. Vladimir Vladimirov said an attempted drone attack targeted facilities in Budennovsk, causing a fire in an industrial zone.
In the Rostov region, Gov. Yury Slyusar said drone debris damaged a fence and set fire to a house under construction in the village of Grushevskaya, which was later extinguished.
Meanwhile, on the diplomatic front, Ukrainian and Russian negotiators returned home after meetings with U.S. officials in Miami over the weekend.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in remarks published Tuesday that Russia is waiting for information from the U.S. on talks with Ukrainian and European officials, after which he said Moscow would assess whether any developments “match the spirit of Anchorage” — referring to the summit between Putin and President Donald Trump in Alaska in August.
Russian negotiator Kirill Dmitriev said he had returned to Moscow after taking part in the Miami talks. Earlier, the Kremlin said he would brief Putin on his return.
Vice President JD Vance on Monday said recent talks had achieved a “breakthrough” in that “all the issues are actually out in the open.”
Peskov, though, told the Rossiya-1 television channel on Tuesday that Russia does not know what Vance was referring to.
Zelenskyy, meanwhile, said in social media posts on Monday that he will be briefed by the Ukrainian negotiating team on Tuesday morning. “There are 20 points of the plan,” he said. “Not everything is perfect so far, but this plan is in place.”
Zelenskyy said there is now a framework of security guarantees with European nations and the U.S. The “bilateral” and “legally binding” deal with the U.S. will need to be reviewed by Congress, he added. “As of today, this all looks quite solid and dignified. For now, however, these are working drafts prepared by our military.”
“This indicates that we are very close to a real outcome,” Zelenskyy added, noting that work was ongoing on a separate draft agreement regarding Ukraine’s economic recovery.
“There are certain things we are not prepared to accept,” Zelenskyy said. “And there are things — of that I am sure — that the Russians are not prepared to accept either. The Americans are currently continuing negotiations with Russian representatives. They will hold talks, and then we will receive feedback from them.”
Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
(NEW YORK) — The Justice Department on Monday released additional documents from its files on the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Following a congressional mandate to release all of its Epstein files by Friday, the Justice Department on Friday released thousands of documents — ranging from investigative material to photos taken by Epstein and his friends — but said it was unable to fully release all the files by the deadline due to the vetting process required to protect Epstein’s victims.
A group of alleged Epstein victims on Monday accused the Justice Department of missteps, including violations of the law, in releasing what they said was “a fraction of the files,” which were “riddled with abnormal and extreme redactions with no explanation” while “numerous victim identities were left unredacted, causing real and immediate harm.”
Epstein, the wealthy financier and convicted sex offender, died by suicide in a New York jail in 2019.
The Epstein Transparency Act, passed last month by Congress and signed by President Donald Trump following blowback the administration received from MAGA supporters seeking the release of the materials, contains exemptions to protect victims’ identities, as well as exemptions for records that “would jeopardize an active federal investigation or ongoing prosecution, provided that such withholding is narrowly tailored and temporary.”
Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
(WASHINGTON) — The Trump administration is recalling dozens of career diplomats from overseas posts in the next month, according to a source familiar with the matter, the latest shakeup at the U.S. State Department.
More than two dozen senior diplomats have received notice that they must leave their roles in the next month, according to the source.
According to the American Foreign Service Association, the labor union that represents the U.S. foreign service and career diplomats, those affected by the recall report being notified by a phone call that they were being removed from their posts “abruptly,” with no explanation provided.
They were directed to vacate their posts by Jan. 15 or 16.
“This method is highly irregular,” a spokesperson for AFSA told ABC News.
“This is not normal practice. Career diplomats and ambassadors are not typically recalled in this manner. The lack of transparency and process breaks sharply with longstanding norms,” the spokesperson said.
Most of the impacted ambassadors are serving at U.S. diplomatic posts in Africa, but the removals also affect posts in Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and the Western Hemisphere.
A senior State Department official described the recall of the ambassadors as “a standard process in any administration.”
“An ambassador is a personal representative of the President, and it is the President’s right to ensure that he has individuals in these countries who advance the America First agenda,” they said.
The State Department declined to comment on specific numbers or ambassadors affected.
AFSA confirmed there is no official, verified list of recalled ambassadors.
There are various lists circulating that appear to be crowdsourced from people inside and outside the department, according AFSA.
POLITICO first reported on the removal of the diplomats.
The recall is the latest move by the Trump administration to reshape the State Department to align it more with its “America First” priorities. The recall comes after more than 1,300 officials and more than 240 foreign service officers were laid off earlier this year as part of what the administration said was a major reorganization aimed at increasing efficiency and reducing government size.
It is typically normal for new presidents to replace political appointments service in ambassador roles; however, career diplomats are typically allowed to continue serving in their roles.
The AFSA slammed the recall, saying it sends a “chilling signal” to career foreign service officers that their oaths to the Constitution take a backseat to political loyalty.
“Removing senior diplomats without cause undermines U.S. credibility abroad and sends a chilling signal to the professional Foreign Service: experience and an oath to the Constitution take a backseat to political loyalty. This is not how America leads,” the statement said.
AFSA says the recall represents “a steady erosion of norms, transparency, and professional independence in the Foreign Service.”
“Abrupt, unexplained recalls reflect the same pattern of institutional sabotage and politicization our survey data shows is already harming morale, effectiveness, and U.S. credibility abroad,” the spokesperson said.
AFSA is working with partners to confirm names one-by-one through direct contacts.
ABC News’ Luis Martinez and Josh Margolin contributed to this report.
Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
(WASHINGTON) — The Trump administration is pausing leases for five offshore wind projects due to “national security concerns” identified by the Department of Defense, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum announced on Monday.
“Today’s action addresses emerging national security risks, including the rapid evolution of the relevant adversary technologies, and the vulnerabilities created by large-scale offshore wind projects with proximity near our east coast population centers,” Burgum said in a press release about the move.
The administration did not disclose what national security risks the wind farms posed, saying that the Department of Defense found the threats in “completed classified reports.”
“As for the national security risks inherent to large-scale offshore wind projects, unclassified reports from the U.S. Government have long found that the movement of massive turbine blades and the highly reflective towers create radar interference called ‘clutter.’ The clutter caused by offshore wind projects obscures legitimate moving targets and generates false targets in the vicinity of the wind projects,” the Department of the Interior said in its press release.
The action affects projects off the coasts of Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Virginia and New York.
According to the Department of the Interior, that five leases that will be affected are: Vineyard Wind 1 (OCS-A 0501), Revolution Wind (OCS-A 0486), CVOW – Commercial (OCS-A 0483), Sunrise Wind (OCS-A 0487) and Empire Wind 1 (OCS-A 0512).
Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont called the move “yet another erratic, anti-business move by the Trump administration that will drive up the price of electricity in Connecticut and throughout the region.”
“This project is nearing completion and providing good-paying clean energy jobs,” Lamont said in a statement.
Burgum wrote in an X post about the move that the projects were “expensive, unreliable, heavily subsidized offshore wind farms.”
Trump has made clear his distaste for windmills in many public events and on the campaign trail.
“Wind is the worst,” Trump said in a speech in Pennsylvania earlier this month. He added in his remarks, “We don’t want — we don’t approve windmills. We don’t approve it. I’m sorry.”
During an overseas trip to Scotland in July, Trump told Europe to “stop the windmills.”
“You’re ruining your countries. I really mean it. It’s so sad. You fly over and you see these windmills all over the place, ruining your beautiful fields and valleys and killing your birds. And if they’re stuck in the ocean, ruining your oceans. Stop the windmills,” Trump said.
Wind is the country’s largest source of renewable energy, accounting for about 10% of electricity generated in the United States, according to the Department of Energy. Proponents say renewable energy is instrumental in reducing the global reliance on fossil fuels, and the industry continues to grow worldwide despite political challenges.
The Sierra Club, an environmental organization, criticized the Trump administration’s action on Monday.
“The Trump administration’s vengeance towards renewable energy knows no end. Instead of progressing us forward as a nation, they are obsessed with attacking a growing industry that provides good clean energy jobs and affordable, clean electricity. Americans need cheaper and more reliable energy that does not come at the expense of our health and futures,” Melinda Pierce, the group’s legislative director, said in a statement.
Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.