Here’s something you probably didn’t have on your bingo card: The Democratic governor of Massachusetts asking President Trump’s administration to move faster in approving a gas expansion project.

That’s exactly what Gov. Maura Healey did on Thursday, imploring Energy Secretary Chris Wright in a letter to move with a “sense of urgency” in issuing required permits for the project to quickly move forward.

Healey, citing her “all of the above” approach to energy issues, previously expressed support for the proposal, a relatively small expansion of 73,500 dekatherms per day of an existing gas pipeline owned by Canadian energy company Enbridge. State regulators approved contracts earlier this year for Eversource to purchase the additional gas from the expansion project, known as the Reliable Affordable Resilient Enhancement, or RARE.

But now, as Healey hunts for ways to bring down soaring gas and electric costs and campaigns for reelection in a race defined by the affordability crisis gripping the state, the governor sees an opportunity to appeal to the fossil fuel-friendly Trump administration to bring more natural gas into the state to both power and heat homes and businesses.

What’s more, Healey said that she and Wright have “on several occasions” discussed their “mutual desire” to bring more gas into New England.

“I ask that you work across the Administration to ensure that the federal reviews and permits needed for RARE move without delay; that agencies establish clear schedules and coordinate their work wherever legally permissible; and that sufficient staff and resources are dedicated to completing the required reviews in time to preserve the project’s planned 2028 in-service date,” Healey wrote to Wright.

More Context

• Mass. Voters hold Trump, utilities most responsible for high energy costs, new poll finds (September 2026)
• Healey’s reelection bids confronts volatile energy politics (May 2026)