MICHAEL PHILLIS and JENNIFER McDERMOTT.

A federal judge has cleared the way for a New York offshore wind project to resume construction. It’s a victory for the developer who said a Trump administration order to pause it would likely kill the project in a matter of days. District Judge Carl J. Nichols is an appointee of President Donald Trump and ruled on Thursday that construction on the Empire Wind project could go forward while he considers the merits of the government’s order to suspend the project. Norwegian company Equinor owns Empire Wind. It’s the second developer to prevail in court against the administration this week. The Trump administration froze five big offshore wind projects on the East Coast days before Christmas, citing national security concerns.

A federal judge is expected to consider whether to set aside a Trump administration order pausing the construction of a major offshore project for New York. Norwegian developer Equinor has a hearing set for Wednesday in a lawsuit to overturn the Trump administration’s freeze on the company’s Empire Wind project. Equinor said it will likely have to kill the partially-finished project if construction can’t resume soon. The administration froze five big offshore wind projects on the East Coast days before Christmas, citing national security concerns. Developers and states sued to fight the administration’s order. A judge ruled Monday that a project serving Rhode Island and Connecticut could resume.