Niina H. Farah

The department said the Obama administration could have done more to police opposition to the oil pipeline.

The awards are among the billions of dollars in energy funding that the Trump administration terminated last year in Democratic-led states.

The ruling, which affects thousands of leases across the Great Plains, will not go into effect immediately to give the Trump administration a chance to appeal.

Federal judges granted Interior's bid to voluntarily drop its appeal of a ruling against the administration's pause on new wind approvals.

A judge found renewable energy developers were likely to win the legal fight.

A federal judge this week refused to dismiss wind and solar developers' lawsuit against the actions.

The head of the commission said Thursday that regulators were responding to a Supreme Court decision last year.

A majority of the justices said the oil major could invoke a 1996 law to pursue claims against a Cuban-owned company.

The justices stripped away a key defense against the oil major's legal claim for damages for assets seized during the Cuban Revolution.

The Golden State's top legal officer said the administration's deal would hinder the state's climate and energy goals.