U.S. Attorney General Pamela Bondi is expected to release a report any day detailing the Justice Department's upcoming plans to combat "state overreach," which is seen as impeding the Trump administration's energy dominance agenda. What might be in that report? Read Bracewell's insights below.
Executive Order Overview
On April 8, 2025, President Donald J. Trump issued an Executive Order entitled "Protecting American Energy from State Overreach" (E.O.). This E.O. expands the White House's focus on ensuring American energy dominance by directing the U.S. Attorney General to take "all appropriate action to stop the enforcement" of state laws and civil actions "burdening the identification, development, siting, production, or use of domestic energy resources that are or may be unconstitutional, preempted by Federal law, or otherwise unenforceable."
The E.O. highlights specific state actions as examples of concerning overreach:
- So-called "climate superfund" laws enacted by New York and Vermont that seek to impose retroactive financial liabilities on fossil fuel companies for their historical greenhouse gas emissions not just in those states but "anywhere in the United States or the globe;"1
- California's Cap-and-Trade program;
- State lawsuits (and threatened lawsuits) against fossil fuel companies for climate change-related damages.
The E.O. requires the U.S. Attorney General to submit a report to President Trump by June 7, 2025, detailing any actions taken and plans to carry out the E.O.'s directives. The report must also include recommendations for further Presidential or legislative action. This tight, 60-day deadline underscores the urgency and seriousness of the Administration's intent. However, as of today, there is no public information about the contents of this report.
Potential Actions by the Federal Government: A Multi-Pronged Approach
While the E.O. directly targets state-level actions, the underlying rationale — protecting American energy dominance — suggests a willingness to challenge policies that are seen as unfairly penalizing the U.S. energy sector, regardless of their origin.
The E.O. suggests several avenues to curtail state climate-related actions:
Litigation: Policy Set by the Courts
The E.O. positions the Justice Department as a key player in actively shaping energy policy, rather than simply enforcing existing laws. On May 1, 2025, the Justice Department filed, lawsuits against the states of Vermont and New York, challenging their climate superfund laws. These state laws impose strict liability on major fossil fuel emitters for their past emissions to recover funds for the states' climate adaptation expenses. The U.S. Attorney General also filed suit against Hawaii and Michigan to prevent these states from pursuing damages claims against fossil fuel...
