United States v. Vermont

On May 1, 2025, the Trump administration filed a lawsuit against the State of Vermont asserting that the State's climate Superfund law is unconstitutional and unenforceable. The complaint alleged that the law, which the State enacted in 2024, is a “transparent monetary-extraction scheme” to force out-of-state fossil fuel companies to fund climate change adaptation projects within the state. The complaint alleged that the law attempts “to usurp the power of the federal government by regulating national and global emissions of greenhouse gases, violating federal law in multiple ways.” The United States alleged that the climate Superfund law is preempted by the Clean Air Act and foreign affairs doctrine, that it violates the limits on extraterritorial legislation imposed by the Constitution’s structure and due process principles, and that the law violates the Foreign and Interstate Commerce Clauses. The United States asked the court to declare the law unconstitutional and unenforceable and to enjoin the State defendants from taking actions to implement or enforce the law. The United States filed a <a href="https://climatecasechart.com/case/united-states-v-new-york/">similar lawsuit</a> challenging New York's climate Superfund law. There also is a <a href="https://climatecasechart.com/case/chamber-of-commerce-of-the-united-states-of-america-v-moore/">pending case</a> in which the Chamber of Commerce of the United States of America and American Petroleum Institute challenge the Vermont law.