In a move legal scholars have called “highly unusual,” the Trump administration’s Department of Justice this week filed federal lawsuits against four states—Hawaii, Michigan, New York, and Vermont—in an effort to prevent them from holding fossil fuel companies accountable for their role in the climate crisis. The lawsuits, filed in U.S. District Courts, argue that state-led efforts to impose penalties or seek damages from oil and gas corporations over greenhouse gas emissions are unconstitutional and conflict with federal authority, including President Donald Trump’s national energy agenda.
“These burdensome and ideologically motivated laws and lawsuits threaten American energy independence and our country’s economic and national security,” Attorney General Pamela Bondi said in a statement. “The Department of Justice is working to ‘Unleash American Energy’ by stopping these illegitimate impediments to the production of affordable, reliable energy that Americans deserve.”
The lawsuits are part of a broader push initiated by an executive order signed by Trump in early April directing the DOJ to take steps to block state regulations that “unreasonably burden domestic energy development.” The order is one of several recent federal actions defending the fossil fuel industry from growing legal and financial accountability for its decades-long role in driving climate change.
In Hawaii, officials confirmed Thursday that the state had filed a lawsuit against seven fossil fuel-affiliated companies, as well as the American Petroleum Institute. The lawsuit accuses the companies of negligence and harm to public trust resources, citing the deadly Lahaina wildfire of 2023 as one example of the state’s escalating climate threats.
“This lawsuit is about holding those parties accountable, shifting the costs of surviving the climate crisis back where they belong, and protecting Hawaii citizens into the future,” said Democratic Governor Josh Green in a statement.
Michigan, meanwhile, has not yet filed its lawsuit but has made clear its intention to do so. Democratic Attorney General Dana Nessel has retained private law firms to assist in preparing the case and condemned the DOJ’s attempt to block it before it is even filed.
“This lawsuit is at best frivolous and arguably sanctionable,” Nessel said, adding, “The oil industry and the White House will not succeed in any attempt to preemptively bar our access to make our claims in the courts.”
The DOJ is also challenging “climate superfund” laws passed in New York and Vermont that would require fossil fuel companies to pay into state funds based on their historical contributions to greenhouse gas emissions. New York’s law seeks to recover $75 billion in damages; Vermont’s statute, while not specifying a dollar amount, follows a similar framework.
“Today’s complaints allege that the New York Climate Change Superfund Act and the Vermont Climate Superfund Act are preempted by the federal Clean Air Act and by the federal foreign affairs power, and that they violate the U.S. Constitution,” the DOJ said. “The Justice Department seeks a declaration that these state laws are unconstitutional and an injunction against their enforcement.”
A spokesperson for New York Governor Kathy Hochul said the governor “believes corporate polluters should pay for the damage done to our environment—not everyday New Yorkers. We will not back down, not from Big Oil, and not from federal overreach.” New York Attorney General Letitia James also defended the law, saying it “ensures that those who contributed to the climate crisis help pay for the damage they caused.”
Vermont Attorney General Charity Clark said she welcomed the opportunity to defend her state’s climate accountability efforts in court. Vermont Governor Phil Scott’s office did not respond to a request for comment.
According to the DOJ filings, the state-level lawsuits and superfund laws could “discourage investment and innovation in the fossil fuel industry,” while “further burdening interstate commerce” and increasing energy costs. The complaints argue that the Clean Air Act, which authorizes the Environmental Protection Agency to regulate air emissions, displaces the authority of states to enact separate legal actions or regulations addressing greenhouse gas pollution.
However, legal experts sharply criticized the DOJ’s reasoning and the broader implications of the lawsuits.
Michael Gerrard, founder and faculty director of the Columbia University Sabin Center for Climate Change Law, said the move was a departure from traditional federal legal strategy. “It’s highly unusual,” Gerrard told The Associated Press, referring to the cases in Hawaii and Michigan. “What we expected is they would intervene in the pending lawsuits, not to try to preempt or prevent a lawsuit from being filed. It’s an aggressive move in support of the fossil fuel industry.”
Ann Carlson, a professor of environmental law at the University of California, Los Angeles, echoed those concerns and pointed to contradictory positions being taken by the federal government. Carlson noted that EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin has indicated the agency is seeking to overturn a Clean Air Act finding that greenhouse gases endanger public health.
“On the one hand the U.S. is saying Michigan, and other states, can’t regulate greenhouse gases because the Clean Air Act does so and therefore preempts states from regulating,” Carlson said. “On the other hand the U.S. is trying to say that the Clean Air Act should not be used to regulate.”
The lawsuits come amid growing pressure on fossil fuel companies from cities, states, and advocacy groups seeking to hold the industry accountable for decades of climate deception and environmental damage. Numerous cases have been filed across the country, accusing oil and gas giants of misleading the public about the dangers of their products and demanding financial compensation for climate-related infrastructure damage, wildfire mitigation, and health impacts.
The Trump administration has repeatedly taken steps to shield fossil fuel producers from liability and regulation. In addition to weakening water and air protections, the administration has promoted coal development, blocked renewable energy efforts, and declared its intent to withdraw the U.S. from key international climate agreements. The DOJ’s legal filings this week represent one of the clearest signs yet that the administration intends to use federal courts to dismantle state-level climate initiatives.
“If the White House or Big Oil wish to challenge our claims, they can do so when our lawsuit is filed,” Nessel said. “I remain undeterred in my intention to file this lawsuit the President and his Big Oil donors so fear.”
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