The Trump administration filed lawsuits Wednesday against Michigan and Hawaii in an attempt to block the states from seeking damages in court against fossil fuel companies for alleged environmental harm.
The complaint filed against Michigan, the state’s Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Attorney General Dana Nessel, claims that Michigan’s anticipated lawsuit against the fossil fuel industry interferes with U.S. policy on greenhouse gas regulation and is an “extraordinary extraterritorial reach.” Similarly, the complaint against Hawaii, the state’s Democratic Gov. Josh Green and the state’s Attorney General Anne Lopez, was filed due to the state’s plan to take legal action against fossil fuel companies for their alleged impact on climate change.
Though neither state has filed a lawsuit as of yet, the planned legal actions could drive up energy prices and interfere with how fossil fuel production is regulated, according to the complaints filed by lawyers with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ).
“At a time when States should be contributing to a national effort to secure reliable sources of domestic energy, Michigan is choosing to stand in the way,” the complaint said. “This Nation’s Constitution and laws do not tolerate this interference,” it continues. The complaint against Hawaii repeats near-identical language.
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In May 2024, Nessel announced that the state would be seeking “attorneys and law firms to serve as Special Assistant Attorneys General to pursue litigation related to the climate change impacts caused by the fossil fuel industry on behalf of the State of Michigan.” Nessel further accused the industry of endangering the state’s environment, economy and residents’ well-being by contributing to climate change.
“As a result of state restrictions and burdens on energy production, the American people are paying more for energy, and the United States is less able to defend itself from hostile foreign actors,” both DOJ lawsuits read.
Hawaii followed in Michigan’s footsteps on April 28, as the state’s governor announced that he had similar intentions to take fossil fuel companies to court.
“We will be filing suit, I believe, on Thursday against the fossil fuel companies,” Green said Monday. “They have to pay their share because climate change and the climate impact is definitely connected to generations of extra fossil fuel that’s been burned,” he continued.
“The United States’ sovereign interests include ensuring that States do not interfere with federal law, including the Clean Air Act, or with the federal government’s exclusive authority over interstate and foreign commerce, greenhouse gas regulation, and national energy policy,” the DOJ lawsuits read.
President Donald Trump declared a national energy emergency on his first day back in office, seeking to expand reliable domestic energy production. He later signed an executive order on April 8 to revive the coal industry, and shortly after moved to exempt several coal plants from Biden-era regulations. The same day, Trump signed an order to shield energy producers from state overreach, stating that “American energy dominance is threatened when State and local governments seek to regulate energy beyond their constitutional or statutory authorities.”
“No amount of Democrat obstruction will stop President Trump from delivering on the promises he made to the American people, including his promise to unleash American energy,” Harrison Fields, a White House spokesperson, said in a statement to the DCNF before the administration went forward with the lawsuits. “Radical, out-of-touch Democrats should clean up the disasters they’ve created in their own states before trying to promote their failed policies to the rest of America.”
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Whitmer in 2023 signed the Clean Energy and Jobs Act, mandating that Michigan achieve 100% green energy generation by 2040. The law also gave the state’s utility regulator authority to override local governments when approving locations for renewable energy infrastructure.
“In order to meet this mandate of 100% green energy, the only way the Whitmer administration can do it is by taking away local control of land,” Republican Michigan State Rep. Matt Hall told the Daily Caller News Foundation at the time. “These local governments are closest to the people and are trying to protect the character of their communities.”
In his statement, Hall pointed to one of the more controversial parts of the legislation that allows the state’s utility regulator — led by appointees of the governor — to override local governments for wind and solar projects, according to MLive. While Michigan currently uses around 17,000 acres for renewable energy, The Detroit News reported that the state may need as many as 209,000 additional acres to meet its clean energy targets.
Hawaii has similarly enacted policies aiming to meet a “zero-emission goal of 100-percent clean energy by 2045.”
The offices of Green, Whitmer, Nessel and Lopez, as well as the White House, did not immediately respond to the DCNF’s request for comment. The DOJ referred the DCNF to its press release when reached for comment.
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