The Trump administration's attacks on renewable energy are making it more difficult for lawmakers to reach a bipartisan energy deal.

Key Democrats say they are not willing to play ball to achieve a deal on permitting reform unless the administration stops going after green energy projects — especially those that have already been approved.

"The elephant in the room now is the stop-work orders that the administration has put out because if you can ignore the law and you can stop someone's job on a fully permitted project, then does permitting law really matter?" Sen. Martin Heinrich (N.M.), the top Democrat on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, asked The Hill in a recent interview.

The Trump administration has moved to block several offshore wind projects that were approved and got permits to build during the Biden administration.

The Trump administration has said in a series of court filings that it hopes to block at least three of those projects, including one in New England that was already about 80 percent constructed.

The White House has carried out multiple attacks on green energy. It has previously slashed tax subsidies for renewables, sought to slow down federal approval of wind and........

© The Hill