Pruitt v. Biden

The federal district court for the Eastern District of Texas denied a pro se plaintiff’s motions for preliminary injunctive relief in a lawsuit challenging the validity of the Paris Climate Accord. A magistrate judge characterized the plaintiff as alleging that President Biden did not have authority to reenter the United States into the Paris Climate Accord because it was a treaty requiring the Senate’s advice and consent. In considering the motion for a temporary restraining order barring the U.S. from reentering the Paris Climate Accord, the magistrate found that the plaintiff had not shown a substantial likelihood that he would succeed on the merits since his case could raise jurisdictional questions regarding the political question doctrine and standing. The magistrate judge also found that the plaintiff’s allegations regarding damage to his interests in minerals or fossil fuels from measures the United States would take if it rejoined the Paris Climate Accord did not establish existence of a substantial threat or irreparable harm. Nor did the plaintiff show how this alleged harm would outweigh the harm of an injunction that would disrupt the U.S.’s international policy on climate change. The district court overruled the plaintiff’s objections to the magistrate’s report and denied the request for preliminary relief.