The Trump administration has rescinded important scientific discoveries that were the basis for regulations to address climate change.
Published March 19, 2026
A group of 23 states has filed a legal challenge against a decision under US President Donald Trump to rescind the scientific findings that underpin regulations to combat climate change.
The legal challenge, led by California and New York, was filed Thursday in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.
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In addition to Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, nine cities, several counties, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the District of Columbia also joined the petition.
“Instead of helping Americans face this new reality, the Trump administration has chosen denial, eliminating critical protections that are the foundation of the federal response to climate change,” New York Attorney General Letitia James said in a statement.
The complaint comes in the wake of President Trump’s Feb. 12 attempt to reverse the decision, known as a “danger finding.”
The Endangerment Findings, established in 2009, conclude that climate change is a threat to human health and the environment, a view consistent with the overwhelming scientific consensus.
This discovery became the basis for government regulations to limit greenhouse gas emissions and promote renewable energy.
But the Trump administration attacked the discovery as a setback for the fossil fuel industry. President Trump said last month that the repeal was “the largest deregulatory move in American history.”
But critics saw ending “crisis discovery” as an important step in the president’s efforts to roll back environmental protections.
President Trump has frequently denounced climate change as a “hoax” aimed at undermining America’s industrial power.
The administration has prioritized increasing production of fossil fuels while hampering the development of renewable energy.
Thursday’s petition targets the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
It not only seeks reinstatement of the “hazard findings,” but also challenges the EPA’s decision to eliminate tailpipe emissions standards for all vehicles and engines from model years 2012 through 2017.
States such as Michigan, Connecticut, and Virginia signed on to the lawsuit, along with cities including New York, Boston, Chicago, Denver, and Los Angeles.
“To be clear, this illegal revocation is not about eliminating ‘bureaucracy,’” California Attorney General Rob Bonta said in a statement Thursday.
“The president has chosen Big Oil’s profits over our health and is betting that the American people will not realize the cost until the bill is due.”
A coalition of advocacy groups also sued the Trump administration last month to reverse the decision, saying it would harm the public health and welfare.
Peter Zarzal, one of the plaintiffs and leader of the Environmental Defense Fund, said at the time: “Rescinding endangered status status puts us all at risk. People around the world will face more pollution, higher costs, and thousands of avoidable deaths.”
