Attorney General Tong Challenges Trump's Fake "Energy Emergency"

Press Releases

05/09/2025

Attorney General Tong Challenges Trump's Fake "Energy Emergency"

(Hartford, CT) – Attorney General William Tong filed suit today alongside fourteen other states to challenge the president’s fake “energy emergency,” declared to line the pockets of Big Oil by handing out free passes to pollute our environment.

“This is Donald Trump’s go-to strategy—proclaim a fake emergency to seize power he does not have. Connecticut families desperately need relief from high energy costs, but Trump’s actions here will only make that worse while enriching fossil fuel industry profits and inflicting permanent damage to our land and climate. We are suing today to block this frivolous order, and to stop all illegal permitting pursuant to it,” said Attorney General Tong.

On Inauguration Day, President Donald Trump declared a “national energy emergency” under the National Emergencies Act. Congress passed the National Emergencies Act to prevent presidents from declaring national emergencies for frivolous or partisan matters — exactly what the president has done here.

At the direction of the president, federal agencies are bypassing or shortening critical reviews under the Clean Water Act, Endangered Species Act, and the Historic National Preservation Act for energy projects. These laws play a critical role protecting the environment and human health and protecting our heritage and places sacred to tribes.

U.S. energy production is at an all-time high. The country is producing so much oil and natural gas that energy companies do not plan to increase output in response to the president’s order. The president is simultaneously seeking to increase exports which, according to the U.S. Department of Energy, will increase prices for American consumers.

The only “emergency” is that the president disagrees with policies to address climate change in Connecticut and elsewhere. He is illegally using emergency authorities to keep the nation reliant on energy sources like coal, oil, and gas. The order excludes wind, solar, and batteries — among the cheapest and cleanest modern energy sources that exist today. The end goal is clear: eliminate the competition so his oil and gas donors can keep gouging Connecticut people and polluting the state.

Until now federal agencies have only used emergency procedures during actual emergencies such as hurricanes and catastrophic oil spills — for example, the Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, where lives were at risk. Now agencies are acting under emergency procedures only due to the president’s order.

The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, names as defendants President Donald Trump, as well as the head of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation. Both agencies have taken illegal action to implement the president’s directive.

The attorneys general ask the court to declare the president’s directive, and the agencies’ implementation of it, illegal and stop them from issuing emergency permits under the executive order.

Trump’s “energy emergency” EO is directly at odds with his executive order on wind, issued the same day, which Connecticut has also challenged. In the wind EO, Trump seeks to cut off development of a domestic source of clean energy at the same time he claims we urgently need more energy.

Joining Attorney General Tong filing this lawsuit are the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Connecticut, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin.

A copy of the complaint is available here.

Assistant Attorney General Jill Lacedonia and Deputy Associate Attorney General Matthew Levine, Chief of the Environment Section are assisting the Attorney General in this matter.

Twitter: @AGWilliamTong

Facebook: CT Attorney General

Media Contact:

Elizabeth Benton
elizabeth.benton@ct.gov

Consumer Inquiries:

860-808-5318
attorney.general@ct.gov