US lawmakers Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ed Markey have challenged a Trump administration plan to provide about $928 million to TotalEnergies as part of the company’s withdrawal from US offshore wind development. In a 31 March letter to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, the two lawmakers asked the administration to stop the payment and disclose both its legal basis and the source of the money.

The proposed arrangement covers the surrender of federal leases tied to offshore wind projects off New York/New Jersey and North Carolina. The lawmakers said the administration had not shown what authority the Department of the Interior had to make such a payment or whether Congress had approved funding for that purpose.

They also objected to the stated use of the money after the agreement. TotalEnergies said after signing the deal that it would direct the proceeds to US oil and gas activity, including a liquefied natural gas export facility in Texas and other projects intended to support domestic supply and demand in Europe.

Ocasio-Cortez and Markey said the plan would send taxpayer money to a foreign company to end private offshore wind development while supporting fossil fuel activity. They also said the administration had not explained its claim that the offshore wind projects raised a national security concern.

In the letter, the lawmakers said the two TotalEnergies projects could have supplied electricity for more than one million homes and businesses in New York and New Jersey, as well as about 300,000 in North Carolina. They added that offshore wind supports domestic power supply and jobs, and pointed to progress at Vineyard Wind 1 and Revolution Wind as recent additions of capacity to the grid.

Reports have also indicated that the US government may be considering similar arrangements with other offshore wind developers holding federal leases at a comparable stage.