An environmental and consumer protection group said on February 9 that the German government offered financial support of up to 1 billion euros ($1.21 billion) to invest in facilities for the import of U.S. liquefied natural gas. The Trump administration pushed U.S. exports of liquefied natural gas as an alternative to Russian gas. According to a document published by the Environmental Action Germany (DUH), German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz offered funding in August. In return, Washington was asked to permit the "unhindered construction and operation of Nord Stream 2. 'A Dirty Deal' Sascha Mueller-Kraenner, the DUH executive director, called it a "scandal" and a "dirty deal at the expense of third parties." The German Finance Ministry has not commented on the matter.