{"id":2619353,"date":"2026-06-26T05:46:02","date_gmt":"2026-06-26T09:46:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-business-of-suing-the-federal-government\/"},"modified":"2026-06-26T05:48:31","modified_gmt":"2026-06-26T09:48:31","slug":"the-business-of-suing-the-federal-government","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-business-of-suing-the-federal-government\/","title":{"rendered":"The business of suing the federal government"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">14<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fthe-business-of-suing-the-federal-government%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2619353&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Recent headlines regarding the Environmental Protection Agency\u2019s (EPA) \u201cendangerment finding\u201d highlight complex legal adn political battles involving multiple parties. This finding, which classified greenhouse gases like CO\u2082 as threats to public health under the Clean Air Act, empowers the federal government to regulate emissions from various sources. However,recent efforts by 25 states\u2019 attorneys general to overturn this ruling have led to lawsuits both supporting and opposing the EPA\u2019s move,creating a legislative standoff.Notably, the potential removal of this finding raises concerns about the loss of federal authority over climate regulation, complicated further by Supreme Court rulings and congressional gridlock.<\/p>\n<p>State attorneys general have become increasingly active,collaborating across party lines and states to influence environmental policy and challenge federal actions. The article features Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman, a former U.S. attorney and FBI agent, who has shifted focus from traditional law enforcement to environmental issues, particularly fighting against EPA regulations that threaten Kentucky\u2019s coal-dependent economy. Coleman emphasizes the importance of strategic litigation against foundational policies like the endangerment finding, working closely with colleagues in other states to coordinate efforts.<\/p>\n<p>This evolving role of attorneys general reflects a broader trend where these officials now play a significant part in shaping national policy through legal action, frequently enough working in collaborative, bipartisan teams that resemble a \u201ctrenches\u201d approach-an evolution from their previous more isolated roles. Their actions have real economic and regulatory impacts, especially in industries like manufacturing and energy, illustrating a shift in the landscape of American environmental and legal policy.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<article class=\"fn-body\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Recent headlines about the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/environmental-protection-agency\/\">Environmental Protection Agency\u2019s<\/a> \u201cendangerment finding\u201d and the challenges it faces could be confusing to many a reader because of all the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/iran-continues-nuclear-program-aims-to-enrich-uranium-to-20\/\" title=\"Iran continues nuclear program, aims to enrich uranium to 20%\">parties involved<\/a>.<\/p>\n<section class=\"explore-more-section\" id=\"wex-recommended-widget\">\n<div class=\"magazine-container single\">\n<h1 class=\"magazine-title mt-2\">Recommended Stories<\/h1>\n<p>             <i class=\"fa-solid fa-play icon\"><\/i>         <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-grid\">\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/business\/4622508\/camp-mystic-bankruptcy-deadly-2025-flood\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Camp Mystic files for bankruptcy after deadly 2025 flood<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/business\/4619079\/brands-creative-circumvent-fifa-sponsorship-world-cup\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Brands get creative to circumvent FIFA\u2019s strict sponsorship rules during the World Cup<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/business\/4619123\/no-more-blue-brown-mms-unveils-dye-free-candy-rfk-jr-push\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>No more blue or brown for now: M&#038;M\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/brands-get-creative-to-circumvent-fifas-strict-sponsorship-rules\/\" title=\"Brands get creative to circumvent FIFA&#039;s strict sponsorship rules\">unveils dye-free candy<\/a> after RFK Jr. push<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Attorneys general of 25 states filed suit, requesting intervenor status, to uphold the current EPA\u2019s move to scrap what is called the \u201cendangerment finding\u201d by former President <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/barack-obama\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"360\">Barack Obama\u2019s<\/a> EPA. In short order, 24 states and a handful of cities filed suit on the other side in March. This came in addition to a lawsuit already filed by environmental groups to challenge the current EPA\u2019s move and to reinstate the original 2009 finding.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-1\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-1\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-15\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-1\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The agency\u2019s findings had been that carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases pose a danger to public health and general welfare under the Clean Air Act. If that finding goes away, then a \u201ckey part of the federal government\u2019s legal authority to regulate emissions from vehicles, power plants, and other sources could soon disappear,\u201d explained Stanford University\u2019s Woods Institute for the Environment, in a news release.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Moreover, it might not be easy to rebottle that genie. A few <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/section\/supreme-court\/\" type=\"link\" id=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/section\/supreme-court\/\">Supreme Court<\/a> rulings have likely made it more difficult to issue a similar finding again, absent specific instructions from <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/congress\/\">Congress<\/a>. And Congress seems pretty gridlocked on many environmental issues.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-state-attorneys-general-on-the-national-stage\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">State attorneys general on the national stage<\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As important as this issue may be on its own, it is not an isolated example. These days, state attorneys general seem to do this all the time: They line up to sue the federal government, either en masse or along roughly partisan lines, to try to push America\u2019s federal bureaucracy to act or not act.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-2\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-2\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-16\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-2\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This is the job that used to be Congress\u2019s primary role through legislation and oversight.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The attorneys general also engage in similar litigation against companies. America saw this in recent memory when the attorneys general went after many drug companies and pharmacies connected to the \u201copioid\u201d (but really the fentanyl) epidemic.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-the-education-of-russell-coleman\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">The education of Russell Coleman<\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The <em>Washington Examiner<\/em> was interested in how this dynamic arose and thus sought out one of the attorneys general deeply involved in the current endangerment finding dispute: Russell Coleman, a Republican who was elected attorney general of <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/kentucky\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"30\">Kentucky<\/a> in November 2023.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-3\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-3\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-17\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-3\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignleft size-large is-resized\">(Washington Examiner illustration; Getty Images)<\/p>\n<p>&#8221; data-large-file=&#8221;https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/2026\/06\/localimages\/BizCover.070126.jpg?w=696&#8243; height=&#8221;658&#8243; width=&#8221;1024&#8243; &#8220;https:><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">(Washington Examiner illustration; Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Coleman, 50, was previously U.S. Attorney for the Western District of the state, and an FBI agent before that. Coleman was elected in 2023 with 58% of the vote, winning 117 of the state\u2019s 120 counties. He assumed office at the beginning of 2024.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cMy background before taking this job was not in environmental law, was not in environmental science,\u201d he admitted to the <em>Washington Examiner <\/em>in a phone interview in early April. Rather, he was \u201ccoming at this from the perspective of law enforcement.\u201d That might have made him feel awkward at first, but it also provided useful ideas for how to tackle the problem.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Coleman explained the basic law enforcement perspective as \u201cyou go to where the threats are.\u201d And as attorney general, he found those threats to Kentucky residents coming from some unexpected quarters.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-4\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-4\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-25\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-4\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI came to this job to go after those that were drug trafficking here, child predators, that was all my background,\u201d he said. \u201cBut what I<br \/>found was the threat that we were seeing in this commonwealth, particularly during the latter year of the Biden administration, was the commonwealth versus the Environmental Protection Agency.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Another thing about the job that did not align with his expectations was his vital role in the state\u2019s utility regulation.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI have the statutory duty to advocate on behalf of ratepayers \u2026 before our Public Service Commission.\u2026 And I did not fully appreciate \u2014 showing a bit of leg \u2014 the import of that role\u201d while running for office, Coleman said.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-5\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-5\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-26\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-5\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There are two parts to his advocacy mandate on utilities. The Kentucky state attorney general is supposed to push for reliable, affordable utilities for all of the state\u2019s ratepayers, not just for individuals. That includes Kentucky\u2019s manufacturing sector, which is a little bit personal for Coleman.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cMy father worked in manufacturing,\u201d he told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>. \u201cHis plant existed in the western part of this state because of our utility rates, because we were so competitive. Because in the waterway system, we could get access to Appalachian coal and west Kentucky coal, that drove so much of our manufacturing base here.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">What Coleman saw coming from the EPA, particularly under former President Joe Biden, was an existential threat to Kentucky\u2019s coal-fired economy.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe were looking at losing our competitive advantage,\u201d he said, and the threats were pretty thick.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In what he swears was \u201cnot an embellishment,\u201d Coleman used to \u201ccarry around a spreadsheet in my suit coat pocket of the number of matters Kentucky was adverse to the United States.\u201d And after a while, it dawned on him that they were going about it all wrong.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe tactical fight was one at a time,\u201d tackling regulatory moves by the EPA on an issue-by-issue basis, whereas the \u201cstrategic fight, working with [Republican West Virginia Attorney General John McCuskey], was to go after the foundation of all this bad policy,\u201d i.e., the EPA\u2019s endangerment finding with its \u201cfoundational sophistry,\u201d Coleman said.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-how-state-attorneys-general-have-changed\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">How state attorneys general have changed<\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Coleman took the lead on this issue, but he did not act alone. West Virginia\u2019s legal apparatus worked with his office in Kentucky to develop the legal strategy, and there were, all told, \u201c24 other states that joined us when we stepped in with our filing,\u201d he pointed out.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe collaborate a great deal in the AG world,\u201d he explained. \u201cI can\u2019t speak to what they do in Congress. They talk a lot. But I know that attorneys general act.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Coming into the job, Coleman did not \u201cfully appreciate the level of collaboration between attorneys general.\u2026 It is a daily degree of engagement. There is not a day that goes by that I\u2019m not on the phone, texting. Our staffs are talking, every day. Particularly with those in a similarly situated space like now-AG McCuskey over in West Virginia: We have been together on so many of these environmental fights because we are in the same spot.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Many of these colleagues become friends, he said. \u201cI would analogize it to my time as a United States attorney. You spend time in the trenches, you are similarly situated, in what is a unique job.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This close collaboration did not always used to be the case. In previous generations, being an attorney general was a fairly parochial job. You oversaw most of the legal actions and some related regulatory matters in your state and left matters in other states alone, mostly.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Now, state attorneys general weigh in on all manner of issues. Coleman thought that the Master Settlement Agreement with the tobacco companies in 1998 had a lot to do with redefining their roles.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/energy-and-environment\/4619113\/trump-administration-public-input-oil-gas-leasing-interior\/\">TRUMP ADMINISTRATION PROPOSES SLASHING PUBLIC INPUT TO ACCELERATE OIL AND GAS LEASING<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In that case, Congress declined to regulate tobacco companies further, and so 46 states brought suit, eventually exacting major concessions and over $100 billion for state coffers. The number was initially projected to be over $200 billion, but the incidence of Americans smoking has declined.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sometimes the attorneys general act in concert; other times, their interventions break down along roughly partisan lines. That\u2019s what happened in the endangerment finding case, with 25 states working to scrap it and 24 states working to keep it in place.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Jeremy Lott (<a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/jeremylottdiary\">@jeremylottdiary<\/a>) is the author of several books, most recently <\/em>The Three Feral Pigs and the Vegan Wolf<em>.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>EPA \u201cendangerment finding\u201d faces legal battles amid partisan disputes<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2692,"featured_media":2619354,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/BizCover.070126.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[32857,51639,38518,4784,5270],"class_list":["post-2619353","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-federal-government","tag-law-2","tag-legal-strategy","tag-litigation","tag-regulation"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/BizCover.070126.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2619353","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2692"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2619353"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2619353\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2619357,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2619353\/revisions\/2619357"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2619354"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2619353"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2619353"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2619353"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}