Judge Shouldn’t Decide Interior’s Permitting Rules, Burgum Says

The Interior Department will appeal an April court injunction against a memo requiring Interior Secretary Doug Burgum’s approval of solar and wind projects on federal land, Burgum said Wednesday during a Congressional budget hearing.

It’s “absurd” for a single judge to determine how the Interior Department permits projects, Burgum said, speaking before the House Natural Resources Committee hearing on the department’s fiscal 2027 budget request.

Judge Denise Casper of the US District Court for the District of Massachusetts on April 21 issued a preliminary injunction against the July 15, 2025, memo and other Interior Department permitting rules that hampered solar ...