Crazed from global warming.
Environmentalists appear more excited than President Trump himself in marking his 100th day in office.
In the lead-up to April 30, Trump’s official 100th day, environmental groups have leveled at least one lawsuit, or related legal action, for nearly every executive order that has been signed since Trump was inaugurated Jan. 20.
Some of the highlights include:
A lawsuit in federal court over Trump’s approval of the Keystone XL pipeline. The Natural Resources Defense Council led the litigation, which argues that the Trump administration rushed the environmental review for the project. It also is seeking to bog down the approval process at the Nebraska public service commission, which must approve the project.
Rallying states and local governments in briefing the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals on the legal flaws inherent with Trump’s push to hold up a court decision on Obama-era climate regulations. Trump issued a March 28 order that seeks to roll back a number of former President Barack Obama’s climate change regulations. But it needs the court to place a hold on a lawsuit against the Clean Power Plan, the centerpiece of Obama’s climate agenda, while the Environmental Protection Agency reviews the regulation.
Last week, the Center for Biological Diversity, joined by Rep. Raul Grijalva of Arizona, the top Democrat on the House Natural Resources Committee, sued Trump over his executive order directing the Department of Homeland Security to begin planning a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. It was the first lawsuit leveled against Trump’s proposal to build the wall.
Scott Pruitt, Trump’s head of the Environmental Protection Agency, dismissed the lawsuit as “frivolous,” the type of thing to be expected as the administration seeks a major restructuring of the government.
At the same time, the New York Times reported last week that Pruitt is seeking a 24-hour security detail of 10 men to guard him around the clock. One of the reasons for the increased security could be the number of activist groups planning to rally against him and Trump’s vision for the EPA, including nationwide protests planned for next week.