Progressives can’t get their radical policy agenda enacted through the Constitution’s democratic processes. That is why the Biden administration mobilizes its agencies to bypass Congress and unilaterally impose major policies—especially energy and climate rules—by executive fiat. Fortunately, the Supreme Court has pushed back, holding that agencies must show clear congressional authorization for significant new policies.
In response, progressive activists are using another tactic, this time trying to evade not only Congress but also the federal courts. They are filing massive lawsuits against energy companies in state courts, trying to set national climate policy under the guise of holding companies liable for polluting. Evidently unsatisfied with the Environmental Protection Agency as their energy policy maker, activists want to make blue-state judges into energy-policy czars.