President Donald Trump and New York Gov. Kathy Hochul disagree on what was in their agreement to resume construction on Empire Wind 1.
The Trump administration was silent for nearly a week on why it decided to suddenly lift its stop work order for the $5 billion project. But on Friday, the White House fired off a statement to POLITICO’s E&E News claiming that the Democratic governor “caved” to Trump and agreed to allow “two natural gas pipelines to advance” through New York.
Hochul, however, says there was no deal — and she will approve the pipelines if they meet federal and state requirements. Her staff said she persuaded Trump by simply presenting the facts on why the 54-turbine offshore wind project is important.
“No deal on any natural gas pipeline was reached,” Hochul spokesperson Paul DeMichele said Friday morning. Hochul’s office did not respond to inquiries after the White House statement was released later on Friday.
