Energy & Infrastructure Permitting

On January 7, 2026 the White House Council on Environmental Quality finalized a directive rescinding regulations that implement the National Environmental Policy Act, with CEQ chair Katherine Scarlett saying the move will "slash needless layering of bureaucratic burden" and that under Trump "NEPA’s regulatory reign of terror has ended." Republican leaders in the House are also advancing legislation to narrow environmental reviews — broadening exemptions, imposing firm deadlines and restricting who can sue and what remedies are available — while Democratic Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse and Martin Heinrich say the administration’s suspension of five major East Coast offshore wind projects over unspecified national security concerns has undermined trust needed for bipartisan permitting reform.