Federal Accountability

OAKLAND — California Attorney General Rob Bonta issued a statement in response to a court granting a temporary restraining order (TRO) in a case challenging the Trump Administration’s mass firing of federal workers across the nation. On Thursday, Attorney General Bonta and a coalition of 21 attorneys general submitted an amicus brief in American Federation of Government Employees, AFL-CIO, et al. v. Trump, in support of the request for a TRO. The TRO issued yesterday immediately blocks the Trump Administration from illegally firing federal workers throughout the federal government until the court considers a preliminary injunction on May 22, 2025. 

“The Trump Administration is attempting to bring the federal government — and the vital services and programs Americans rely on — to a screeching halt,” said Attorney General Bonta. “A court has ordered President Trump to end his illegal mass firing rampage pending a ruling on a preliminary injunction. This won’t undo the damage already sown, but it does send a clear message: The President does not hold the power to illegally fire anyone he wants — and as of Friday night, he must stop doing so." 

Massive federal layoffs substantially disrupt the ability of the states to protect and serve their residents and pose serious risks and harms to their citizens’ health, safety, and lives by impacting state programs focused on  emergency planning and response, infrastructure repair, environmental protection, and  public health, among many more issues.

Attorney General Bonta has forcefully stood up to the Trump Administration's illegal efforts to dismember and impair the federal government though mass firing. 

This week, Attorney General Bonta filed a lawsuit against the Trump Administration challenging the unlawful mass firing of roughly 10,000 full-time U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) employees, the consolidation of 28 HHS divisions into 15 divisions, and the closing of half of HHS’s ten regional offices  — in addition to previously filed lawsuits challenging the illegal firing of probationary federal workers and U.S. Department of Education workers. 

Attorney General Bonta has submitted two amicus briefs (here and here) in lawsuits challenging the Trump Administration's dismantling of the Consumer Protection Financial Bureau — actions that include issuing a suspension of work across the agency and terminating probationary employees. These actions rapidly and substantially increase the burden on state agencies to protect consumers. 

Last month, Attorney General Bonta filed an amicus brief in support of a lawsuit challenging operational changes to Social Security Administration (SSA) policies. These changes, including staffing cuts, field office closures, and the illegal shuttering of departments, have hampered SSA’s ability to help older adults and persons with disabilities access the benefits and services they depend on.

A copy of the TRO can be found here. 

After filing lawsuit on Monday, Attorney General Bonta now seeks preliminary injunctive relief from certain portions of MAHA Directive

OAKLAND — California Attorney General Rob Bonta today joined a coalition of 19 attorneys general in filing a motion for a preliminary injunction to stop the dismantling of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). On March 27, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. issued a directive to “Make America Healthy Again” (MAHA Directive), which included the firing of roughly 10,000 full-time HHS employees, the consolidation of 28 HHS divisions into 15 divisions, and the closing of half of HHS’s ten regional offices — including one in San Francisco. On May 5, the attorneys general filed a lawsuit against the Trump Administration challenging over the MAHA Directive. In today’s motion, they argue that they have satisfied each of the elements for issuance of a preliminary injunction and seek intervention from the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island to prevent the imminent, irreparable damage resulting from certain portions of the MAHA Directive.

“Absent intervention from the court, our States will suffer irreparable harm. As a result, we’re filing a motion for a preliminary injunction and requesting expedited relief,” said Attorney General Bonta. “With HHS under attack by the Trump Administration, my fellow attorneys general and I are continuing to answer the public’s call to protect this critical Department.”

The States argue that the entire MAHA Directive is arbitrary and capricious, and specifically move for a preliminary injunction setting aside the MAHA Directive as to: (1) the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; (2) the Center for Tobacco Products (located within the Food & Drug Administration); (3) the Office of Head Start within the Administration for Children and Families; and (4) the Division of Data and Technical Analysis (located within the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation), which is responsible for calculating the federal poverty guidelines.

In their motion, the attorneys general argue that: 

• The States are likely to prevail on their claims that the Trump Administration’s actions violate the Administrative Procedure Act, congressional mandates, and the Constitution. 
• The States have suffered and will continue to suffer irreparable harm in the form of lost funding, information, guidance and support for their complementary State programs — in particular if the formal staff terminations, which were sent on April 1, are allowed to proceed on June 2.
• The public health and social consequences of these actions overwhelmingly militate in favor of preliminary injunctive relief.  

In filing today’s motion for a preliminary injunction, Attorney General Bonta joins the attorneys general of Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaiʻi, Illinois, Maine, Michigan, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia.

A copy of the motion can be found here.

Urges court to keep order that will protect the agency from further dismemberment 

OAKLAND — California Attorney General Rob Bonta today announced joining a coalition of 23 attorneys general in submitting an amicus brief in National Treasury Employees Union v. Vought, a lawsuit challenging the Trump Administration’s efforts to dismantle the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). In February, Attorney General Bonta submitted an initial amicus brief in this case, which was followed by the court granting a robust preliminary injunction, a decision that prevents the Trump Administration from moving forward with mass layoffs while litigation in this case proceeds. The Trump Administration has now appealed the preliminary injunction, asking the court to strike it down to allow further dismantling of the CFPB to continue. In today’s amicus brief, the attorneys general argue that shuttering the CFPB would cause catastrophic harm to consumer protections nationwide. These actions by the Trump Administration trample over the decision of Congress to create the agency, violating the separation of powers under the U.S. Constitution. 

“Further demolishing the CFPB, the top cop protecting Americans from exploitation, would put families nationwide at a stark disadvantage when standing up to big businesses who aren’t playing by the rules,” said Attorney General Bonta. “I urge the court to keep in place the order preventing the Trump Administration from issuing mass layoffs at the CFPB — its loss would have devastating and deep implications for California, and the financial well-being of households across the nation."

In the brief, filed in the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, the attorneys general argue the dismantling of the CFPB will cause irreparable harm to consumers and the states’ own consumer protection enforcement efforts, leave no oversight over large national banks, and will rapidly and substantially increase the burden on state agencies to protect consumers from conduct regulated by the CFPB. The loss of the CFPB’s partnership has concrete and widespread implications: from the sharing of complaints and trend data, to providing training, to partnering on joint investigations and litigations, the CFPB has been a force multiplier for California’s consumer protection efforts.

Background
 
After examining the fallout of the 2008 financial crisis, Congress concluded the crisis resulted in part from the failure of federal banking and other regulators to address significant consumer protection issues detrimental to both consumers and the safety and soundness of the banking system. In direct response to these events, Congress established the CFPB and tasked it with enforcing numerous federal consumer protection statutes and enacting regulations to further these efforts. For over a decade, the CFPB has served as an invaluable partner to state attorneys general and state banking regulators, both by working to protect consumers against fraudulent and abusive practices and by advancing a fair and level playing field in consumer financial markets by issuing regulations under federal law. 
 
In the last months, the Trump Administration has taken a series of actions intended to debilitate the CFPB, including issuing a suspension of work across the agency, terminating probationary employees, and announcing a decision not to draw additional funding from the Federal Reserve. These actions appear to be part of a unilateral effort to permanently shut down the agency, including programs and operations mandated by federal law. Most recently, the Trump Administration issued reduction in force notices to 90% of the CFPB’s workforce — a move that was swiftly blocked by the courts.

Attorney General Bonta has been a vocal supporter of CFPB. In February, Attorney General Bonta submitted an amicus brief in another case, Mayor and City Council of Baltimore v. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. 
 
In filing the brief, Attorney General Bonta joins the attorneys general of New York, New Jersey, the District of Columbia, Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin.

A copy of the brief can be found here.  

OAKLAND — California Attorney General Rob Bonta joined a coalition of 21 attorneys general in submitting an amicus brief in American Federation of Government Employees, AFL-CIO, et al. v. Trump, in support of the request for a temporary restraining order (TRO) to halt the Trump Administration’s illegal mass firings in agencies across the federal government. 

“The illegal ransacking of federal agencies and the mass firing of federal workers that make these agencies run has sown tremendous chaos, instilled distrust among the American people, and caused deep harm to our country,” said Attorney General Bonta. “Beyond the on-the-ground impacts we are seeing, the continued uncertainty surrounding the fate of various federal agencies has a real and lasting impact on states that must devote substantial time and resources to prepare for agencies that may or may not cease to exist. I urge the court to order an immediate end to the Trump Administration’s firing rampage.”

In the brief, the attorneys general argue that the Trump Administration is acting beyond its authority in dismantling agencies across the federal government — the Trump Administration does not have the power to incapacitate a department that Congress created, nor can it decline to spend funds that were appropriated by Congress for that department. 

Massive federal layoffs substantially disrupt the ability of the states to protect and serve their residents and pose serious risks and harms to their citizens’ health, safety, and lives by impacting state programs ranging from emergency planning and response, infrastructure repair, environmental protection, public health, among many more.

The brief includes multiple examples of federal statutes inviting or requiring federal and state collaboration to solve problems, including:

• The United States Geological Survey’s work to identify, assess, and plan for potential landslide hazards; 
• The tsunami hazard mitigation program created by the Environmental Protection Agency and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA);
• The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) national suicide and mental health hotlines; 
• The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s deployment of a team to address crises such as food-borne pathogens’ threat to human health; and 
• FEMA’s responsibility to develop operational plans and lead infrastructure workers who respond to disasters, establish programs for temporary housing during emergencies, and ensure that federal agencies work in coordination with state and local officials.  

Attorney General Bonta has forcefully stood up to the Trump Administrations illegal efforts to dismember and impair the federal government though mass firing. 

This week, Attorney General Bonta filed a lawsuit against the Trump Administration challenging the unlawful mass firing of roughly 10,000 full-time HHS employees, the consolidation of 28 HHS divisions into 15 divisions, and the closing of half of HHS’s ten regional offices  — in addition to previously filed lawsuits challenging the illegal firing of probationary federal workers and U.S. Department of Education workers. 

Attorney General Bonta has submitted two amicus briefs (here and here) in lawsuits challenging the Trump Administrations dismantling of the Consumer Protection Financial Bureau — actions that include issuing a suspension of work across the agency and terminating probationary employees — and rapidly and substantially increases the burden on state agencies to protect consumers. 

Last month, Attorney General Bonta filed an amicus brief in support of a lawsuit challenging operational changes to Social Security Administration policies. These changes, including staffing cuts, field office closures, and the illegal shuttering of departments, have hampered SSA’s ability to help older adults and persons with disabilities access the benefits and services they depend on. 

In filing the brief, Attorney General Bonta joins the attorneys general of Washington, Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and the District of Columbia. 

A copy of the brief can be found here.

20th lawsuit against Trump Administration asks court to block executive order and directive to expedite non-emergency permitting procedures

OAKLAND — California Attorney General Rob Bonta today co-led a coalition of 14 attorneys general in filing a lawsuit challenging President Donald Trump’s Executive Order (EO) entitled “Declaring a National Energy Emergency,” along with the actions taken by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) and the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation pursuant to the EO. Although national energy production reached an all-time high under President Biden and has continued growing, President Trump unlawfully invoked authority under the National Emergencies Act to improperly declare a national energy emergency. Congress passed the National Emergencies Act to prevent Presidents from declaring national emergencies for frivolous or partisan matters — exactly what the President has done here.  Based on that declaration, the EO directs federal agencies to exercise their emergency authorities – reserved for disaster prevention and recovery – to facilitate and expedite the development of energy projects. Notably, the directives under the EO would expedite fossil fuel projects but exclude solar and wind power. Attorney General Bonta and the multistate coalition allege that the President’s directive is not only unlawful, but will unnecessarily fast-track non-emergency projects, which the states allege will result in damage to their states’ waters, historic properties, and tribal lands and the people and wildlife that rely on our precious natural resources.  

“Just another unlawful directive from the President, this time acting well beyond the scope of his emergency powers,” said Attorney General Bonta. “The invocation of the country’s emergency authorities is reserved for actual emergencies— not changes in Presidential policy or because the President feels like it. These procedures misuse authorities meant for disaster response and bypass important health and environmental protections for the benefit of the fossil fuel industry. That’s why my fellow attorneys general and I are filing this lawsuit to hold the President accountable for breaking the law, again.” 

On January 20th, his first day in office, President Trump issued an executive order, which declared a “national energy emergency” under the National Emergencies Act. Pursuant to this directive, the Corps was instructed to identify projects for accelerated permitting under the Clean Water Act (CWA). Under Section 404 of the CWA, the Corps issues permits for the discharge of dredged or fill materials into navigable waters nationwide, typically for water resource projects such as dams and levees, infrastructure development such as highways and airports, mining projects, and flood control projects. The Corps subsequently issued “special emergency permit processing procedures” for Corps districts across the country. Other agencies, including the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, have followed suit, issuing emergency procedures and/or guidance to expedite permitting of energy projects. Until now, federal agencies have used emergency procedures during actual emergencies such as hurricanes and catastrophic oil spills — for example, the Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. Now agencies are acting under emergency procedures only due to the President’s decision to declare a national energy emergency when no such emergency actually exists. 

In the lawsuit, the attorneys general allege that the President’s directive, and federal agencies’ subsequent implementation of it, violate multiple federal laws, including the Administrative Procedure Act. The attorneys general are asking the Court to declare the President’s directive illegal and prevent the Administration from taking any action to pursue emergency permitting for non-emergency projects.

Joining California Attorney General Bonta and Washington Attorney General Brown in filing this lawsuit are the attorneys general of Arizona, Connecticut, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Wisconsin.

A copy of the complaint can be found here.  

BURLINGAME – California Attorney General Rob Bonta, California Governor Gavin Newsom, California Department of Transportation, and the California Energy Commission, today co-led a coalition of 17 attorneys general in filing a lawsuit against the Trump Administration for unlawfully withholding billions of dollars in funding approved by bipartisan majorities in Congress for electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure that would reduce planet-warming pollution, expand access to clean vehicles, and create thousands of green jobs. Under the direction of the President, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) issued a directive to thwart Congress’s $5 billion program, the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) formula program, which would expand EV charging infrastructure nationwide. This directive purports to revoke the approval of all prior state EV infrastructure plans and withholds the distribution of federal funds to states. Specifically, in California, FHWA’s unlawful actions would cost the state more than $300 million, eliminate thousands of good-paying jobs, and dismantle a critical, emerging tech industry. 

“The President continues his unconstitutional attempts to withhold funding that Congress appropriated to programs he dislikes. This time he’s illegally stripping away billions of dollars for electric vehicle charging infrastructure, all to line the pockets of his Big Oil friends,” said Attorney General Rob Bonta. “The facts don’t lie: The demand for clean transportation continues to rise, and California will be at the forefront of this transition to a more sustainable, low-emissions future. California will not back down, not from Big Oil, and not from federal overreach.”

“When America retreats, China wins. President Trump’s illegal action withholding funds for electric vehicle infrastructure is yet another Trump gift to China – ceding American innovation and killing thousands of jobs,” said Governor Gavin Newsom. “Instead of hawking Teslas on the White House lawn, President Trump could actually help Elon – and the nation – by following the law and releasing this bipartisan funding.” 

“California remains fully committed to developing a robust, reliable and accessible EV charging network which will help improve air quality and enhance the EV driving experience for all," said California Energy Commission Chair David Hochschild.

“Withholding funding now would be wasteful, illegal, performative, and only serve to delay the progress we’ve made in building a cleaner, more sustainable transportation future,” said California Transportation Secretary Toks Omishakin. “We will continue to stand up for Californians and the nation because the future of the planet depends on it.”

In 2022, Congress passed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. One provision of the IIJA appropriated $5 billion for NEVI to facilitate a national network of electric vehicle charging infrastructure across the states, making clean cars accessible and convenient for more consumers and markets. On Day One, President Trump issued an executive order directing federal agencies to immediately stop releasing certain funds appropriated through the IIJA, including $5 billion that Congress appropriated for electric vehicle charging stations under NEVI. Following that directive, FHWA effectively halted the NEVI program by, among other things, withholding billions in funds that Congress had directed to the States for building EV infrastructure.

California continues to lead the nation in the adoption of zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) and the development of supporting infrastructure to rapidly deploy funds to develop and ensure a reliable and easy-to-use charging network. To date, over 2 million ZEVs have been sold in California, representing more than 30% of all ZEVs sold in the United States. 

The California Energy Commission anticipates that California will need several hundred thousand more EV charging ports to support light-duty cars and trucks and incrementally more charging ports for medium- and heavy-duty trucks and buses to meet climate goals. California’s State Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Deployment Plan, approved by the federal government, would leverage public funding and private investment to build out a statewide charging infrastructure, including $384 million from the NEVI program.

The complaint filed today alleges that the NEVI directive was arbitrary and capricious and not in accordance with law under the federal Administrative Procedure Act, and in violation of the U.S. Constitution. The NEVI program was created by statute, and, as it is a formula program, the amounts due to states are allocated by Congress, not the President. The complaint asks the court to declare that the NEVI directive is unlawful and to permanently stop the administration from withholding the funds. The states also seek a preliminary injunction to halt the illegal withholding of NEVI funds to the states.

Attorney General Bonta co-led the lawsuit with the attorneys general of Washington and Colorado, and was joined in the filing by the attorneys general of Arizona, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Wisconsin, Vermont, and the District of Columbia.

A copy of the complaint is available here. A copy of the motion for preliminary injunction is available here. 

Continues to secure vital relief in lawsuits challenging the Trump Administration’s unlawful actions 

OAKLAND – California Attorney General Rob Bonta today issued a statement on the decision by the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island granting a preliminary injunction stopping the dismantling of several federal agencies, including the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the Minority Business Development Agency, and the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, while litigation continues. This is the second preliminary injunction Attorney General Bonta has secured in litigation challenging the Trump Administration’s unlawful actions in a matter of hours. 

“The Trump Administration is attempting to dismantle critical federal agencies without any consideration for the Americans that rely on the programs and services these agencies provide,” said Attorney General Bonta. “It’s not just damaging – it’s also illegal. I am pleased with this latest decision by a court blocking the President’s unlawful actions, and I look forward to continuing to make our case in court. California will always fight to protect our public libraries and museums and the facts, knowledge, and cultural heritage they provide.”

BACKGROUND

On April 4, 2025, Attorney General Bonta and a multistate coalition filed a lawsuit challenging the Trump Administration’s unlawful executive order directing several congressionally established agencies, including the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the Minority Business Development Agency, and the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, to eliminate every component and function not required by statute and reduce their statutorily required functions and associated staff to the minimum required by law. The executive order also directs the Office of Management and Budget to deny these agencies authorization to spend federal funds already allocated by Congress for any functions beyond the minimum required by statute. 

A copy of the decision granting the motion for a preliminary injunction is available here. 

OAKLAND – California Attorney General Rob Bonta today issued a statement on the decision by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York granting a preliminary injunction to prevent the federal government from rescinding access to hundreds of millions of dollars in vital education funding while litigation proceeds. In California alone, over $200 million in previously awarded and obligated funding is at stake – funding that school districts are already putting to use for programs such as afterschool and summer learning initiatives, the purchase of educational technology, and the provision of mental health services and support.  

“The Trump Administration continues to break the law, and we continue to hold him accountable,” said Attorney General Bonta. “I’m pleased by the court’s decision today allowing vital education funding to continue to flow into our schools while our case continues. We will not stop fighting to ensure these unlawful, nonsensical funding cuts never see the light of day. Our students deserve nothing less.”

BACKGROUND 

On March 28, 2025, Education Secretary Linda McMahon notified state departments of education that the U.S. Department of Education had unilaterally rescinded access to previously awarded and obligated education funding that is currently being used by school districts to support the academic recovery of students following the COVID-19 pandemic. These programs and services address, among other things, the impact of lost instructional time; students’ academic, social, and emotional needs; and the disproportionate impact of the pandemic on economically-disadvantaged students,  including homeless children and children in foster care.  

On April 10, 2025, Attorney General Rob Bonta and a coalition of states challenged the Department of Education’s actions. The states argue that the Department’s decision to rescind access to this funding is arbitrary and capricious in violation of the Administrative Procedures Act, exceeds the Department’s statutory and regulatory authority under the law, and will cause immediate and devastating harm to school districts in California and across the nation.

A copy of the court's order is available here.

OAKLAND — California Attorney General Rob Bonta and Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford today led a coalition of 19 attorneys general in filing a motion for a preliminary injunction to block the Trump Administration from implementing Executive Order No. 14248 (Executive Order), an unconstitutional, antidemocratic, and un-American attempt to impose sweeping voting restrictions across the country. Among other things, the Executive Order attempts to conscript state election officials in the President’s campaign to impose documentary proof of citizenship requirements for voter registration, force States to ignore mail ballots that are cast by Election Day but received by election officials just days afterward, and withhold various streams of federal funding from the States if they fail to comply.  

On April 3, the attorneys general filed a lawsuit challenging the Executive Order. The lawsuit underscores that the power to regulate elections rests exclusively with the States and Congress — not the President. Since then, the Trump Administration has begun taking steps to implement the Executive Order. In their motion for a preliminary injunction, the attorneys general argue that they are likely to win on the merits of their lawsuit, that their States have unique and profound interests at stake in the litigation, and that their States will suffer irreparable harms without court-ordered relief. 

“Last month, my fellow attorneys general and I sued President Trump over his unconstitutional elections Executive Order. We are now back in court because our States are facing imminent and concrete harms,” said Attorney General Bonta. “Elections don’t just happen overnight — States must devote significant resources and countless hours of preparation to make them happen. The Executive Order threatens to disrupt that process, to the detriment of California and its voters, so we are asking the court to halt its implementation.”

In their motion for a preliminary injunction, the attorneys general explain that the Executive Order acutely injures their States’ compelling interest in preserving the integrity of their election processes. For instance, the documentary proof of citizenship requirements have necessitated an immediate response from some state elections officials, who must consider how to carry out their voter registration duties subject to the new requirements by meeting with their staff, speaking with local elections officials, and beginning to plan for a near future with the requirements in place — or risk the loss of federal funding. In addition, to force States to comply with the new ballot receipt deadline, the Executive Order uses enforcement threats by the United States Attorney General and conditions on funding. And, to properly administer elections in line with that new ballot receipt deadline, state elections administrators must devote significant additional resources to training, education, and support of local elections officials and the voting public.  

In filing today’s motion for a preliminary injunction, Attorneys General Bonta and Ford are joined by the attorneys general of Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Wisconsin. 

A copy of the motion can be found here.

Impeding wind development threatens economic growth and climate progress

OAKLAND — California Attorney General Rob Bonta, as part of a coalition of 18 attorneys general, today filed a lawsuit against the Trump Administration over its unlawful attempt to freeze the development of offshore wind energy. Attorney General Bonta and the multistate coalition allege that the President’s directive harms their states’ efforts to secure reliable, diversified, and affordable sources of energy to meet their increasing demand for electricity and help reduce emissions of harmful air pollutants, meet clean energy goals, and address climate change. The attorneys general also allege that the moratorium threatens to thwart the states’ significant investments in wind industry infrastructure, supply chains, and workforce development — investments that already total billions of dollars.

“The Trump Administration’s directive to halt the development of offshore wind energy is illegal,” said Attorney General Bonta. “This reckless directive will not only reverse America’s progress in clean energy initiatives, but our communities will also suffer the economic consequences of the President’s misguided lawlessness. The President has promised that his actions would lower energy costs, but instead, energy prices have only gone up and will continue to skyrocket. In California, we will continue to hold the President accountable for breaking the law and protect our significant progress in expanding cleaner, cheaper energy for American families.”  

On January 20, President Trump issued a Presidential Memorandum that, among other things, indefinitely halted all federal approvals necessary for the development of offshore and onshore wind energy projects pending federal review. Pursuant to this directive, federal agencies have stopped all permitting and approval activities. Wind energy is a homegrown source of reliable, affordable energy that supports hundreds of thousands of jobs, creates billions of dollars in economic activity and tax payments, and already supplies more than 10% of the country’s electricity.  

In addition to relying on onshore wind energy, in California, there are also currently five federal offshore wind leases off of California’s coast. Two are located offshore by Humboldt, while the remaining three are offshore from Morro Bay. These new developments are designed to bring substantial amounts of clean energy to the grid, including enough to power 1.6 million homes and potentially more. The President’s directive will not only derail the clean energy transition, but will also threaten to increase consumer energy costs. The President’s directive also jeopardizes substantial economic benefits to California, including the creation of thousands of union jobs, increased tax revenue particularly in the Humboldt area, and the provision of more than $50 million to support communities, Native American Tribes, or other interested parties that are expected to be affected by the lease development.

Through the lawsuit, the attorneys general allege that the President’s directive and federal agencies’ subsequent implementation of it violate multiple federal laws, including the Administrative Procedure Act. The attorneys general are asking the Court to declare the President’s directive illegal and prevent the Administration from taking any action to delay or prevent wind energy development. 

Attorney General Bonta joins the attorneys general of New York, Massachusetts, Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Washington, in filing the lawsuit.

A copy of the complaint is available here.