Joe Biden lawsuit: 12 GOP-led state AGs sue POTUS over climate change order

President Joe Biden has made the issue of climate change one of his top priorities since becoming president. However, following his issuance of an executive order regarding climate change, 12 state attorneys general from Republican-led states filed a lawsuit against Biden.

12 state attorneys general, led by Missouri AG Eric Schmitt, filed a lawsuit against Biden over his executive order that addresses climate change. The lawsuit argues that Biden violated the separation of powers clause in the Constitution, citing that only Congress has the authority to regulate. The AGs allege that Biden does not have the constitutional authority to implement new rules involving greenhouse gases. Aside from Schmitt, state attorneys general from Utah, Arkansas, Arizona, Montana, Ohio, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Indiana, and Kansas joined in on the effort.

Shortly after getting sworn in, Biden signed an executive order directing federal agencies to calculate the “social cost” of greenhouse gas pollution through estimating “monetized damages” to inform future federal regulations. This would include changes made in net agricultural productivity, human health, property damage from increased flood risk, and the value of ecosystem services.

However, the 12 AGs argue that assigning the values specified falls within the authority of Congress while noting that there would be major economic fallout. The lawsuit also requests that the court issue an order that would prohibit federal agencies from using the “social cost” estimates.

Biden’s climate change order also shut down the Keystone XL Pipeline permit and directed the Interior Department to conduct a review of the Trump administration’s decision to reduce the boundaries of national monuments.

As Biden now lives in the White House, his dogs, Champ and Major Biden, have followed suit. However, both dogs have recently been brought back to Biden’s home in Delaware after a biting incident occurred. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki confirmed that Major Biden was involved in a biting incident that left a person with a minor injury. No further details were disclosed regarding who was injured, but Psaki revealed that the person who was injured has since received treatment from the White House medical unit and did not need further medical attention.