Trump Taps Wartime Powers To Revive Long-Stalled Pipeline With $42 Million In Taxpayer Funds

President Donald Trump’s administration is putting up to $42 million in federal funding behind a natural gas pipeline that New York helped derail years ago, invoking national defense powers to revive the project as the White House pushes to lower energy costs across the Northeast.

The Department of Energy (DOE) announced Monday that the funding would advance the proposed 125-mile Constitution Pipeline, which would transport natural gas from Pennsylvania to New York. The money would come through the Defense Production Act (DPA), a federal law granting the president authorities to strengthen industrial capabilities deemed essential to national defense.

“This is an outstanding use of the Defense Production Act — in fact it needs to be expanded, not only to the pipeline, but also to ALL Refineries in the United States,” energy analyst Stuart Turley told the Daily Caller News Foundation. Turley argued that increasing refining capacity could help lower gasoline and diesel prices without forcing consumers to reduce demand.

The project could lower electricity and home heating costs while reducing the risk of blackouts during periods of peak demand, Energy Secretary Chris Wright said in the announcement.

“Despite America having an abundant supply of low-cost natural gas, tens of millions of Americans have limited access to this reliable energy source due to a lack of pipeline infrastructure,” Wright said.

The $42 million would support permitting, environmental reviews, engineering and other preconstruction activities, according to the DOE. The department also indicated that funding could support complementary natural gas infrastructure after the necessary permits are secured.

The pipeline was originally approved by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in 2014, but New York regulators denied a critical water-quality certification in 2016, citing concerns about the project’s potential environmental impacts. Developers eventually abandoned the project in 2020 following years of legal and regulatory disputes, according to Fox Business.

Williams Companies, the energy infrastructure firm developing the pipeline, is now seeking renewed federal approval and projects that the pipeline could begin operating in late 2028. The company estimates that the pipeline could transport enough natural gas to meet the equivalent daily needs of approximately three million Northeast homes.

Williams Companies, the DOE and the New York’s Department of Environmental Conservation and FERC each did not immediately respond to the DCNF’s requests for comment.