Summary:
On 29 May 2025, a case was filed on behalf of 22 youth plaintiffs from five US states (Montana, Oregon, Hawai‘i, California, and Florida) before the US District Court in the District of Montana with the support of the NGO Our Children’s Trust and others. The plaintiffs in this case contested a series of climate-related executive orders issued by the Trump administration, arguing that these measures threaten their constitutional rights to life, health, and safety. This includes executive orders aimed at “unleashing” fossil fuels, anti-clean energy measures and those removing climate science-related information from federal websites.
The case was brought against US President Donald Trump as well as various government agencies and offices including the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Department of the Interior (DOI), the Department of Energy (DOE), the Department of Transportation (DOT), the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the Department of Commerce (DOC), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the National Science Foundation (NSF), the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the United States of America itself.
Measures challenged:
The lawsuit challenged three specific executive orders, as well as measures to delete climate science information from government websites. The contested executive orders are the following:
- Executive Order 14154: “Unleashing American Energy” (which prioritizes oil, gas, and coal over renewable energy).
- Executive Order 14156: “Declaring a National Energy Emergency” (which directs federal agencies to invoke emergency powers to fast-track fossil fuel production).
- Executive Order 14261: “Reinvigorating America’s Beautiful Clean Coal Industry” (designating coal as a “mineral” under federal policy, thereby granting it priority status for extraction and development on public lands).
Claims made:
The youth plaintiffs argued that the Trump administration’s executive orders violate their constitutional right to life (under the fifth amendment to the US Constitution) by increasing climate pollution. They also argue that the measures are an act of executive overreach, or in other words an ultra vires act going beyond presidential powers, and that augmenting fossil fuel production, suppressing climate science, and blocking clean energy solutions is a violation of the ‘state-created danger doctrine’, which triggers a governmental duty to protect against government-induced harm.
Dismissal of the case:
On 15 October 2025, the United States District Court for the State of Montana dismissed the plaintiffs’ complaint for lack of standing, denying them leave to amend their complaint. The plaintiffs appealed this decision with the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, on 2 June 2026, affirming the decision of the district court to dismiss the case. The Ninth Circuit Court held that:
by effectively challenging hundreds of current and anticipated agency actions in one lawsuit, Plaintiffs seek to circumvent the jurisdictional and procedural rules Congress has established for challenges to agency actions. Such a sweeping injunction against hundreds of agency actions in one lawsuit is unprecedented.
Suggested citation:
US District Court of Montana, Lighthiser et al. v. Trump, CV 25–54–BU–DLC, 15 October 2025.
US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, Lighthiser et al. v. Trump, D.C. No. 2:25-cv-00054-DLC, 2 June 2026.
Last updated:
24 June 2026.