Trump’s New Executive Order Directs Federal Attorney General to Target State Laws Addressing Climate Change
In his latest attempt to rewrite the Constitution through executive orders claiming expanded presidential power, Donald Trump has directed the Justice Department to go after states with laws requiring the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from power plants and other sources.
“American energy dominance is threatened when State and local governments seek to regulate energy beyond their constitutional or statutory authorities,” Trump said in the order. He said the attorney general should focus on state laws targeting climate change.
Opposition to the Orders
Organizations representing groups of state governors and city mayors vowed that their members would continue to target climate change and fight any legal efforts to stop them. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, cochairs of the U.S. Climate Alliance, which includes 22 governors, said they “will keep advancing solutions to the climate crisis.” California Gov. Gavin Newsom said his state’s efforts to reduce pollution “won’t be derailed by a glorified press release masquerading as an executive order.” Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego, chair of the group Climate Mayors, said that the federal government is overreaching its authority and ignoring the “enormous costs of continued environmental destruction and the political and social harm of retreating American leadership.”
“We stand firmly opposed to President Donald Trump’s executive order attempting to eliminate the ability of states to mitigate the effects of climate change under the guise of federal supremacy. This order represents a dangerous overreach of executive power. It is a direct threat to communities struggling with the burdens of pollution and insults the experiences of the survivors of Hurricane Helene here in North Carolina,” said Michelle “Meech” Carter, NCLCV’s clean energy campaigns director. “The Tenth Amendment in the Constitution guarantees states the ability to reflect the needs and wishes of their residents. States have done so by passing bipartisan legislation, enacting regulations on dirty polluters, and promoting a healthy democracy through equitable community engagement.”
Trump’s Attempt to Make Americans Pay for Dirty, Expensive Energy
“State elected leaders have the obligation to protect their constituents. President Trump’s extreme and unconstitutional executive order is yet another attempt to undermine local control and raise prices on everyday Americans to bail out big coal company CEOs,” agreed Bill Holland, the national League of Conservation Voters (LCV) Vice President of State Policy and Advocacy. “States across the country have used their authority to invest in clean energy because it’s the fastest, cheapest way to get more energy on the grid. It’s already lowering costs and creating tens of millions of jobs in every corner of the country. Donald Trump’s E.O. is another attempt to make Americans pay for the dirtiest, most expensive form of energy and to undermine states’ ability to hold polluters accountable for the impact of extreme weather fueled by climate change.”
