Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, together with a coalition of states, has filed an amended complaint expanding the ongoing legal challenge to President Donald Trump’s Executive Order declaring a “National Energy Emergency.” The revised lawsuit adds the United States Department of the Interior as a defendant, alleging that it bypassed requirements in federal laws such as the National Environmental Protection Act and Endangered Species Act when permitting fossil fuel and other energy projects.
The original lawsuit was filed last May by multiple state attorneys general. It challenged actions taken under President Trump’s executive order by agencies including the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation. The suit contends that although national energy production reached record levels under President Biden and continued to grow, President Trump used authority under the National Emergencies Act to declare a “national energy emergency” without actual cause. The complaint argues that this declaration is being used to speed up fossil fuel projects while limiting development of wind and solar energy initiatives.
Attorney General Nessel stated: “We’ve already seen how the Trump administration has unlawfully forced the J.H. Campbell coal plant right here in Michigan to stay open under the guise of its fake energy emergency. Now, the Department of the Interior is bypassing essential environmental regulations simply to pad Big Oil’s profits. My office will continue pushing back against these illegal actions and defending the rule of law.”
President Trump issued his executive order on January 20th, 2025—his first day in office—declaring a “national energy emergency.” This directive instructed federal agencies like the Army Corps to accelerate permitting for certain projects under existing legislation such as Section 404 of the Clean Water Act (CWA). Under these instructions, new procedures were implemented that allowed expedited review processes for water resource infrastructure and other developments nationwide, avoiding standard regulatory checks typically required for such work.
Other agencies also adopted similar measures intended for emergencies only during events like hurricanes or catastrophic oil spills—for example, following incidents like Deepwater Horizon in the Gulf of Mexico. According to Michigan officials, current federal agency actions are based solely on this presidential declaration rather than any actual emergency.
In their amended complaint, Nessel and her counterparts argue that these fast-tracked approvals violate several key federal statutes by ignoring established environmental protections.
Attorneys general from Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin joined Michigan in filing this amended complaint.
The Michigan Department of Attorney General serves as both chief legal office and primary law enforcement entity for residents across Michigan according to its official website. Led by Dana Nessel since her appointment as Michigan’s 54th attorney general (source), it handles consumer complaints (source), issues scam alerts (source), assists crime victims (source), manages expungement efforts such as those enabled by drafting Clean Slate law in 2019 (source), combats human trafficking (source), supports vulnerable populations (source), and exercises statewide authority to protect all residents (source).
