Lawmakers Challenge Trump Administration's Use of Defense Production Act for Sable Offshore Pipeline Restart
U.S. Representative Salud Carbajal, alongside Senators Sheldon Whitehouse, Alex Padilla, and Adam Schiff, and 14 other colleagues, have filed an amicus brief challenging the Trump Administration's use of the Defense Production Act (DPA) to facilitate the restart of the Sable Offshore oil pipeline system. The brief, filed in California v. Wright in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, argues that the Administration has failed to demonstrate a legitimate national defense need for Sable's crude oil. They contend that the DPA order does not meet the statutory requirements for invoking such extraordinary authority, especially since Sable produces crude oil, not finished fuels for military use, and no clear connection has been established between Sable's production and an unmet military fuel requirement. The pipeline has been out of service since the 2015 Refugio oil spill, and Sable Offshore acquired the Santa Ynez Unit from ExxonMobil in 2024. In March 2026, Energy Secretary Chris Wr...
