A coalition of Democratic state attorneys general filed suit Friday against President Donald Trump’s energy emergency, claiming federal agencies are forgoing environmental reviews for a crisis that does not exist.
Filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, the lawsuit names Trump, the head of the Army Corps of Engineers and the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP), an independent agency.
It charges that both agencies have taken illegal action to carry out Trump’s directive on his first day in office to speed up approvals of energy projects in response to a “national energy emergency.” The states are asking the court to declare the directive — and the agencies’ response to it — illegal and prevent agencies from issuing emergency permits under the executive order.
“Just another unlawful directive from the president, this time acting well beyond the scope of his emergency powers,” said California Attorney General Rob Bonta (D) who is co-leading the lawsuit with Washington state Attorney General Nick Brown (D) and attorneys general from 13 other states.
