Trump DOJ Challenges Minnesota Climate Lawsuit Against Exxon, Koch and API
The Trump administration’s Justice Department has sued Minnesota in federal court, seeking to block the state’s long-running climate deception lawsuit against ExxonMobil, Koch Industries and the American Petroleum Institute.
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison filed the original case in 2020, accusing the companies of misleading Minnesotans about climate change and fossil-fuel harms. The DOJ argues Minnesota is effectively trying to regulate greenhouse gas emissions through state litigation, a role the administration says belongs to the federal government.
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The timing matters. Minnesota’s case recently moved closer to discovery after the state Supreme Court declined to review industry efforts to dismiss it.
The federal lawsuit also fits a broader Trump climate agenda that has targeted state climate actions and rolled back federal greenhouse gas regulation, including EPA’s rescission of the 2009 endangerment finding.
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