On Wednesday, the Department of Justice filed lawsuits against Michigan and Hawaii — preemptively attempting to shut down planned legal actions holding oil and gas firms accountable for the climate crisis. A day later, the administration expanded its assault, suing New York and Vermont over new laws that would force polluters to pay for climate-related damages.
The legal barrage follows Trump's executive order declaring a national "energy emergency" on his first day back in office, part of his broader push to roll back environmental protections and reassert fossil fuel dominance.
State leaders vow to fight back
Despite the looming threat from Washington, Hawaii pressed ahead with its climate accountability lawsuit on Thursday. Governor Josh Green said fossil fuel companies must be held responsible for the devastation they have inflicted, including the 2023 Lahaina wildfire.
"This is about protecting our citizens and shifting the costs of the climate crisis back to those who caused it," Green said.
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, who has yet to formally file her suit, fiercely condemned the Justice Department's move to block her effort before it even begins. "It's a surprising debasement of the DOJ and the White House," she said, calling the case "frivolous and arguably sanctionable."
"The fossil fuel industry and this administration may try to silence us, but they will not succeed," Nessel added.
Legal challenge to climate Superfund laws
The Justice Department is also targeting Superfund-style climate laws passed in New York and Vermont last year. Modeled on existing federal legislation for hazardous waste cleanup, these laws would require fossil fuel producers to contribute to state funds based on their historic greenhouse gas emissions.
The DOJ has dismissed these efforts as "monetary extraction schemes," arguing they interfere with federal jurisdiction over climate regulation. But state officials pushed back firmly.
"Governor Hochul believes corporate polluters — not working families — should pay for the damage they caused," said a spokesperson for the New York governor's office. "We will not back down."
Vermont Attorney General Charity Clark welcomed the legal challenge, saying she looked forward to defending her state's right to demand accountability from polluters.
Experts: A radical overreach
Legal scholars and environmental advocates are sounding the alarm over what they describe as a deeply aggressive and highly unusual strategy by the Trump administration.
"It's unprecedented," said Michael Gerrard of Columbia University's Sabin Center for Climate Change Law. "We expected them to intervene in pending litigation, not to sue states before lawsuits are even filed."
Ann Carlson, professor of environmental law at UCLA, noted a contradiction in the administration's legal stance: while arguing that the Clean Air Act bars states from regulating greenhouse gases, it is also attempting to gut that same act's authority to do so.
"They're trying to have it both ways — saying states can't act because the EPA can, while simultaneously trying to stop the EPA from acting," Carlson said.
A chilling message
Environmental groups warn the lawsuits send a chilling message to states and communities pursuing justice over the escalating costs of climate change — costs that disproportionately affect low-income and frontline communities.
"This is an aggressive move in support of the fossil fuel industry," said one climate advocate. "It's not just about emissions — it's about silencing accountability."
As global climate impacts intensify, the fight over who bears responsibility — and who pays the price — is shaping up to be one of the defining legal and political battles of the decade.