Lighthiser v. Trump

Twenty-two youth plaintiffs filed a lawsuit in the federal district court for the District of Montana against President Trump and federal agencies and officials alleging that three energy-related executive orders violate their substantive due process rights and are ultra vires. The three executive orders are: Executive Order 14154, “Unleashing American Energy”; Executive Order 14156, “Declaring a National Energy Emergency”; and Executive Order 14261, “Reinvigorating America’s Beautiful Clean Coal Industry and Amending Executive Order 14241.” The plaintiffs alleged that the executive orders’ directive will slow the development of clean energy infrastructure and increase use of fossil fuels, as well as “dismantl[e] the climate science and climate change warning infrastructure of the Nation.” The complaint asserted claims of substantive due process violations of right to life and right to liberty, as well as claims that the executive orders and agency implementation of them were ultra vires exercises of power that “illegally amended, repealed, rescinded, and circumvented” federal statutes, including the 1970 law creating EPA, the Clean Air Act, and the Inflation Reduction Act. The complaint also asserted that the termination of the National Climate Assessment and “wholesale suppression of climate science research and data across the federal government” were ultra vires. In addition, the complaint included a claim that the executive orders and implementing actions were unconstitutional under the state-created danger doctrine. The plaintiffs seek declaratory and injunctive relief.