DOJ files complaint to block Minnesota climate lawsuit

By Elyse Apel
The Center Square

The U.S. Department of Justice has filed a complaint against Minnesota, seeking to block the state from continuing to pursue a lawsuit against energy companies over greenhouse gas emissions.

The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota, claims the state is attempting to regulate global emissions through state law – an area the federal government says is exclusively under its control.

“The case we filed against Minnesota today is an attempt to rein in another unconstitutional state effort to invade an area of exclusive federal control,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Adam Gustafson of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. “It is in America’s interest to have independent and secure sources of energy. Minnesota’s attempted overreach would undermine our economic and national security to advance the climate agenda of politicians and activists.”

According to the federal government, Minnesota’s lawsuit against energy producers seeks to “effectively regulate” global greenhouse gas emissions and impose broad changes on the industry.

“[Minnesota] does not even try to hide the obvious: it seeks a global remedy for a global issue,” its complaint states. It is asking the court declare Minnesota’s lawsuit “unconstitutional and unlawful.”

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison first sued ExxonMobil, Koch Industries and the American Petroleum Institute in 2020. He accused the companies of consumer fraud and deceptive trade practices.

“We’re here suing these defendants—API, ExxonMobil and Koch—for hiding the truth, confusing the facts and muddling the water to devastating effect,” Ellison said at a news conference when he first announced the lawsuit.

The Justice Department argues the state’s efforts are preempted by federal law, including the Clean Air Act, and conflict with the need for a uniform national energy policy.

“Federal law, not state law, exclusively governs regulation of global greenhouse gas emissions,” the complaint states, citing “the overriding need for a uniform rule of decision” on issues affecting national energy and environmental policy.

When President Donald Trump first took office, he issued executive orders declaring a “national energy emergency” and “terminating the Green New Deal.”

Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward tied this action to Trump’s broader energy agenda.

“President Trump promised to unleash American energy dominance, and Minnesota officials cannot undermine his directive by mandating that their woke climate preferences become the uniform policy of our nation,” Woodward said. “Minnesota’s attempt to impose a national regulation on global greenhouse gas emissions not only is preempted by federal law, but also undermines affordable and reliable American energy.”

The DOJ complaint also argues Minnesota’s case would “unreasonably burden domestic energy development” and interfere with federal authority over interstate pollution and foreign affairs.

The filing follows similar legal action by the Justice Department against other states, including Hawaii, Michigan, New York and Vermont.

This is not the first showdown between Minnesota and the Trump administration over energy and climate policy.

Over the past year, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison has led multiple legal challenges against the Trump administration’s energy actions, including the administration’s efforts to keep coal-fired power plants operating beyond planned retirement dates.

Minnesota is also part of a multi-state lawsuit challenging the rollback of federal limits on toxic air pollution under the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards, arguing the changes will increase contamination and harm public health.