Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel has filed an amended complaint adding the U.S. Department of the Interior as a defendant. The coalition argues the Trump administration bypassed environmental laws to advance fossil fuel projects, claiming a national energy emergency that, according to the complaint, does not exist.
According to the Michigan Department of Attorney General, the legal challenge, filed last May, originally targeted President Trump’s executive order and actions by federal agencies, including the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation. The coalition has now added the Department of the Interior, alleging it bypassed requirements under the National Environmental Policy Act and the Endangered Species Act. President Trump declared a national energy emergency on his first day in office, January 20, 2025, which was used to fast-track fossil fuel projects.
Despite record-high national energy production under President Biden, the executive order led federal agencies to use emergency measures typically reserved for crises like hurricanes or the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The amended complaint alleges the agencies misused these provisions to follow a presidential directive that the coalition of state attorneys general says lacks legal justification.
Attorney General Nessel criticized the Department of the Interior for bypassing environmental safeguards, saying the Trump administration unlawfully forced the J.H. Campbell coal plant in Michigan to remain open under a fake energy emergency. She vowed to continue challenging what she considers illegal actions. Nessel is joined by attorneys general from 16 other states in opposition to the federal actions.
