The Daily Fuckup

The Justice Department on Monday, May 4, 2026, filed a federal complaint against Minnesota asking a court to stop the state from enforcing its climate-deception lawsuit against ExxonMobil, Koch Industries, Flint Hills Resources and the American Petroleum Institute. The department says Minnesota is trying to use a state-court case to regulate global greenhouse-gas emissions, an area it says is reserved to the federal government. DOJ says the filing is preempted by the Constitution and the Clean Air Act and is tied to President Donald Trump’s April 8, 2025 executive order, “Protecting American Energy From State Overreach.” ([justice.gov](https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-files-complaint-against-minnesota-over-its-attempt-override-federal-law?utm_source=openai))

Minnesota first sued the companies in June 2020, accusing them of deceiving and defrauding Minnesotans about climate change and shifting costs to taxpayers. On April 15, 2026, the Minnesota Supreme Court denied a petition for review after the defendants failed to get the case dismissed in the trial court and the state appeals court. The state attorney general’s office said that ruling clears the way for the lawsuit to proceed to discovery. ([ag.state.mn.us](https://www.ag.state.mn.us/Office/Communications/2026/04/17_ExxonKochAPI.asp?utm_source=openai))

In its federal filing, DOJ says Minnesota is attempting to impose a national climate policy through a state lawsuit and that the effort intrudes on exclusive federal authority. The department also says the case is barred by federal law and unreasonably burdens domestic energy development. ([justice.gov](https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-files-complaint-against-minnesota-over-its-attempt-override-federal-law?utm_source=openai))

The dispute now moves to federal court, where the question is whether Minnesota can keep pursuing claims that it says are grounded in consumer protection and the Justice Department says are preempted by federal law. ([justice.gov](https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-files-complaint-against-minnesota-over-its-attempt-override-federal-law?utm_source=openai))