Story perspectives

DOJ Sues Minnesota, AG Over Climate Suit, Citing Trump Order

5/5/2026

Summary

Story summary

The Justice Department sued Minnesota and AG Keith Ellison in court to block the climate lawsuit.
The suit invokes a 2025 order from President Donald Trump directing it to protect the energy industry from climate litigation.
The Justice Department says regulation would weaken energy affordability, reliability and national security.
Associate Attorney General Stanley E. Woodward Jr. said it defends Trump’s directive to stop state “woke climate preferences” from becoming policy.

History

Historical Context

After the 2007 Supreme Court ruling in Massachusetts v. EPA gave the EPA authority to treat greenhouse gases as pollutants, West Virginia v. EPA in 2022 narrowed that power. In 2025 the Trump administration issued an executive order directing the EPA to reassess its endangerment finding, reigniting a federal-state clash over climate regulation.

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Story summary

The Justice Department sued Minnesota and AG Keith Ellison in court to block the climate lawsuit.
The suit invokes a 2025 order from President Donald Trump directing it to protect the energy industry from climate litigation.
The Justice Department says regulation would weaken energy affordability, reliability and national security.
Associate Attorney General Stanley E. Woodward Jr. said it defends Trump’s directive to stop state “woke climate preferences” from becoming policy.

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