In a sweeping executive action that has sparked legal scrutiny and political backlash, former President Donald Trump signed an executive order Tuesday instructing the U.S. Department of Justice to block enforcement of state and local climate laws. The order, titled “Protecting American Energy From State Overreach,” calls on Attorney General Pam Bondi to identify and take legal action against state policies addressing climate change, fossil fuel emissions, and Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) initiatives that the administration deems unconstitutional or otherwise unenforceable.
The executive order singles out progressive states including New York, California, and Vermont, accusing them of overstepping their constitutional authority with climate policies such as cap-and-trade programs and so-called “climate superfund” laws, which hold fossil fuel companies financially accountable for climate damages.
“These State laws and policies are fundamentally irreconcilable with my Administration’s objective to unleash American energy. They should not stand,” the order states.
The order also explicitly targets dozens of lawsuits brought by cities, counties, and states against major oil companies. These legal efforts have sought compensation for the costs of climate-related disasters and accused fossil fuel corporations of intentionally misleading the public about the risks of their products. The Trump administration’s move aims to dismantle these lawsuits by asserting federal supremacy over local environmental regulation.
“This order is an illegal, disgusting attempt to force everyday people to pay for the rising toll of climate disasters, while shielding the richest people in the world from accountability,” said Aru Shiney-Ajay, executive director of the youth-led Sunrise Movement, in a statement reported by The Guardian.
Environmental lawyers and constitutional experts swiftly raised concerns over the legality of the directive, emphasizing that the federal government does not hold unilateral power to strike down state laws.
“This illegal and unconstitutional order panders to the biggest polluters on the planet and shows Trump’s utter hypocrisy on states’ rights,” said Jason Rylander, legal director of the Center for Biological Diversity’s Climate Law Institute, according to The Guardian. “Trying to sic the justice department on state officials who are protecting their people from pollution will fail because the US attorney general has no power to declare state laws illegal.”
Trump’s order focuses on state laws that use terms such as “greenhouse gas emissions,” “environmental justice,” and references to carbon taxes or fees. It cites California’s cap-and-trade program, in operation since 2012, as a prime example of unlawful state interference in national energy policy. The system requires polluting businesses to purchase allowances for carbon emissions and is designed to limit greenhouse gases across multiple sectors. California’s policy supports the broader Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, a cooperative program involving 11 states in the Northeast that aims to reduce carbon pollution from the power sector.
Another major target of the order is New York’s climate superfund law, which requires fossil fuel producers to pay for damages related to extreme weather events linked to climate change. Vermont passed a similar law last year. Trump’s order calls these policies a threat to “American energy dominance and our economic and national security.”
The administration’s assertion that states are exceeding their constitutional limits has been met with resistance from governors and attorneys general in the targeted states. New York Governor Kathy Hochul and New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham issued a joint statement rebuking the executive action.
“The federal government cannot unilaterally strip states’ independent constitutional authority,” they stated, as reported by Politico. “We are a nation of states — and laws — and we will not be deterred.”
California Attorney General Rob Bonta echoed this sentiment and said his office is reviewing the order.
“California remains committed to using the full force of the law and tools of this office to address the climate crisis head-on and protect public health and welfare,” Bonta told Politico. A spokesperson for Bonta added, “The Trump administration continues to attempt to gut federal environmental protections and put the country at risk of falling further behind in our fight against climate change and environmental harm.”
Environmental groups and legal watchdogs have characterized the order as a politically motivated attempt to silence state and local efforts that have become increasingly central to climate governance in the absence of robust federal action.
“Make no mistake: this executive order isn’t about energy independence or economic security – it’s about ensuring billionaire polluters never have to face a jury of ordinary Americans,” said Cassidy DiPaola, communications director of Make Polluters Pay, as quoted in The Guardian. “The American people deserve better than a government that protects polluters’ profits over people’s lives.”
The order came shortly after a White House meeting in March between Trump and fossil fuel executives, during which industry leaders reportedly lobbied for immunity from climate litigation. Just days earlier, over 200 environmental, consumer advocacy, and social justice organizations had urged top congressional Democrats to oppose efforts by the fossil fuel industry to obtain legal protections from these lawsuits.
Industry leaders welcomed Trump’s action. “Directing the Department of Justice to address this state overreach will help restore the rule of law and ensure activist-driven campaigns do not stand in the way of ensuring the nation has access to an affordable and reliable energy supply,” said Ryan Meyers, senior vice-president of the American Petroleum Institute, in a public statement.
The fossil fuel industry has played a prominent role in Trump’s political career. Companies in the sector poured $96 million into his reelection campaign and aligned political action committees, a figure that, while short of the $1 billion Trump reportedly requested from the industry at a Mar-a-Lago fundraiser, still constituted record-breaking support.
Trump has consistently dismissed climate lawsuits as “frivolous” and has publicly pledged to shield the oil and gas industry from accountability. During his first term, his administration filed multiple legal briefs supporting fossil fuel defendants in climate litigation.
The new executive order reflects a broader ideological campaign to dismantle environmental protections and redefine state authority. In recent months, rightwing advocacy networks linked to Leonard Leo and the Federalist Society have coordinated messaging campaigns warning that state-level climate policies “are threatening America’s pro-consumer energy dominance.” A truck parked outside a major fossil fuel conference in Houston recently displayed this warning, with a link to an op-ed authored by a group with ties to Leo.
Legal experts anticipate that the order will face immediate challenges in court. While the executive branch may attempt to pressure states through litigation, it is unclear whether the Department of Justice has any enforceable authority to nullify local laws that do not directly conflict with federal statutes. The potential confrontation could become a defining case for the limits of executive power and the rights of states to regulate for public health and the environment.
COMMENTS