19 States and Guam Move to Intervene Against Youth in Constitutional Climate Case — a First Among 450+ Challenges to Trump-Era Executive Orders

19 States and Guam Move to Intervene Against Youth in Constitutional Climate Case — a First Among 450+ Challenges to Trump-Era Executive Orders

Media Contacts:
Julia Olson, Chief Legal Counsel, 415.786.4825, julia@ourchildrenstrust.org
Andrea Rodgers, Senior Litigation Attorney, 206.696.2851, andrea@ourchildrenstrust.org
Helen Britto, Comms. Associate Director, 925.588.1171, helen@ourchildrenstrust.org
Nicole Funaro, Media Relations Strategist, 203.435.1722, nfunaro@publicjustice.net

Missoula, MT— In an unusual move, the State of Montana, 18 other states*, and the U.S. territory of Guam have filed a motion to intervene in Lighthiser v. Trump. Lighthiser is a constitutional right to life case brought by 22 young Americans challenging President Donald Trump’s executive orders that escalate physical harm to the youth by expanding fossil fuel development, dismantling climate science, and blocking clean energy. The Montana-led coalition of states seeks to join the lawsuit as defendants to defend three sweeping executive orders issued by President Donald Trump to “unleash fossil fuels.”

Since President Trump returned to office, over 450 lawsuits have been filed challenging executive orders or federal agency actions. Lighthiser v. Trump is the only case in which a coalition of states has sought to intervene — a clear sign that this youth-led lawsuit poses the greatest threat to the fossil fuel expansion policies of this administration.

Julia Olson, lead attorney for the plaintiffs and Chief Legal Counsel at Our Children’s Trust, said:

“Since President Trump returned to office, more than 450 cases have been filed challenging his executive orders or the agency actions taken to carry them out. Out of all those cases, only one has triggered a coalition of 19 states and a U.S. territory to intervene—this one. That speaks volumes. These states see Lighthiser v. Trump as the biggest legal threat to the fossil fuel executive orders that are harming children, worsening the climate crisis, and violating the Constitution. Instead of protecting the health and safety of young people, these states are lining up to defend orders that unleash more fossil fuel pollution, silence science, and dismantle safeguards passed by Congress. Their intervention confirms what we already know: this constitutional rights case is vitally important, urgent, and it is exposing unlawful policies they are desperate to defend. The evidence will show not only that President Trump’s policies will harm these young plaintiffs and expose them to more life-threatening flood, fire, and heat events, but that they are wholly unnecessary for the energy and prosperity needs of our nation. The defendants are going to have to show why they should be able to put energy policies in place that kill, when there are affordable modern-day alternatives that create security and safety for children.”

Daniel Snyder, director of the Environmental Enforcement Project at Public Justice, said:

“These states’ attempt to try to stop this litigation from moving forward not only signals a lack of care and concern for our environment, it also represents a total disregard for the future of our children and their health.

By prioritizing the expansion of fossil fuels, these states are putting political and corporate interests ahead of the health and constitutional rights of their own children. Our leaders have a duty to safeguard a livable climate — because every other goal, whether economic stability or public safety, depends on a habitable planet. In a democracy, the role of government is to protect its people, not serve polluters. Our children deserve a future grounded in science, justice, and care — not sacrificed to fossil fuel profits.

If this intervention is successful, we have one simple message to our challengers: we’ll see you in court.”

The plaintiffs will file a formal response to the motion to intervene in the coming weeks. A two-day combined evidentiary hearing on the motion for a preliminary injunction and the federal government’s forthcoming motion to dismiss is set for Sept. 16–17, 2025 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Montana in Missoula, Montana. Experts, plaintiffs and former government witnesses will testify and attorneys for both sides will argue the legal issues in this preliminary phase of the case.

*The motion to intervene was filed by the State of Montana, along with 18 other states—Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, West Virginia, and Wyoming—and the U.S. Territory of Guam, all represented by their respective Attorneys General.

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Our Children’s Trust was founded in 2010 on the idea that courts are vital to democracy and empowered to protect our children and the planet. Without a stable climate system, every natural resource we rely upon to exercise our basic human rights—life, liberty, home, happiness—is under threat. Our work will be achieved when there is universal recognition of children’s climate rights by courts around the world and children’s fundamental rights to life on this planet are protected. www.ourchildrenstrust.org

Public Justice takes on the most significant systemic threats to justice of our time—abusive corporate power and predatory practices, the assault on civil rights and liberties, and the destruction of the earth’s sustainability. We link high-impact litigation with strategic communications and the strength of our partnerships to combat these abusive and discriminatory systems and achieve social and economic justice. For more information, visit www.publicjustice.net

 



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