Hi! You're reading the It's Just Politics newsletter. Subscribe here to get it delivered to your inbox, and listen to the It's Just Politics podcast for all the political news you need each week.
President Donald Trump, well known to be a climate change sceptic, displayed once again this week that he’s ready to write his own rulebook when it comes to favored and disfavored issues. And he tossed a hardball at the statewide political figure who’s probably become his loudest Michigan critic as Governor Gretchen Whitmer and other Democrats try to find some common ground with the President. And that’s Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel.
Trump’s Justice Department filed a legal challenge this week to state lawsuits that don’t exist – at least not yet – against oil and gas companies. This U.S. Justice Department legal action names Whitmer as the state’s chief executive and Nessel because she has threatened to file climate change lawsuits.
The U.S. Justice Department lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan argues interstate issues, the U.S. Constitution’s Supremacy Clause and the federal Clean Air Act all make this the province of the federal government and not states.
“The Department’s filings seek to protect Americans from unlawful state overreach that would threaten energy independence critical to the wellbeing and security of all Americans,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Adam Gustafson of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division in an emailed statement.
But we don’t know specifically what this alleged “overreach” is.
Nessel, like some other Democratic AGs, have threatened lawsuits. Nessel has, in fact, hired attorneys to build climate change cases against energy companies. But Nessel has not filed any lawsuits yet. (The Trump administration has filed a similar case against Hawaii.)
“There are many states and local governments who have brought lawsuits to try to get compensation, get damages from the oil companies and from some others,” Natural Resources Defense Council attorney David Doniger told Rick. “The sort of odd thing is that the Michigan and Hawaii cases are not filed yet.”
Typically, there must be what courts call “an actual controversy.” Courts don’t like to waste their time with theoretical issues. They need to see a specific harm to real-life people, organizations or businesses.
Nessel (who, it’s worth mentioning, is eying a U.S. Senate run as she’s term-limited from her current office) is unrestrained in her response.
“If the White House or Big Oil wish to challenge our claims, they can do so when our lawsuit is filed; they will not succeed in any attempt to preemptively bar our access to make our claims in the courts,” she said in a statement emailed to Rick. “I remain undeterred in my intention to file this lawsuit the President and his Big Oil donors so fear.”
A federal judge could certainly toss this case and tell the Justice Department to come back and argue the issues once Nessel files one or more lawsuits against oil and gas companies. (At that point, the administration would probably have to ask the judge to either make it a party to the case as a primary litigant or seek permission to file an amici – or “friend of the court” – brief.)
The fact that the federal lawsuit names Nessel is arguably incidental, but she has been the state’s “bring-it-on” opposition while many other Democrats are trying to figure out how to straddle a line with the President.
In an interview with Zoe last month, Nessel said she believes Democrats who work with this president, “will look back on this very difficult and concerning time in American history and have deep regrets that they didn’t do more to fight back when they still had the opportunity to do so.”
______________________
Have questions about Michigan politics? Or, just want to let us know what you want more of (less of?) in the newsletter? We always want to hear from you! Shoot us an email at politics@michiganpublic.org!
_______________________
_______________________
What we’re talking about at the dinner table
About that hug: Speaking of Democrats working with Trump, Governor Whitmer (who is widely believed to have her own presidential aspirations) says her approach with Trump is, in fact, working. Even if she had to endure what appeared to be a brief, awkward embrace that set the progressive wing of the Democratic coalition aflame. But Whitmer told Rick it was worth it to get federal approval this week of a fighter jet mission stationed at Selfridge Air National Guard Base in Macomb County. “It’s voluminous, the ways that we disagree,” she said in the interview. “That being said, I've got a duty to continue to try to get as much done for our state as I can. I’ve got to work with people that I don't always agree on.” You can listen to the interview with Whitmer on this week’s It’s Just Politics (as well as analysis of what’s behind the fascinatingly transactional alliance between the governor and president).
Voting rights to the ballot (again): Michigan voters adopted a voting rights amendment to the state constitution in 2022 to expand access and make it easier to cast a ballot. That progressive-backed measure was largely opposed by Republicans, who are now pushing their own amendment to that amendment. The proposal would also have to be approved by voters and there are two routes to the ballot. House Republicans (fully aware that the effort was futile) put up a resolution for a vote this week. While it got full support from the House GOP majority, it did not get the two-thirds majority necessary to move it to the Senate – where Democrats would have stalled it anyway. It was a token vote to get a record that could maybe be used against Democrats in future elections. Representative Bryan Posthumus (R-Rockford) plans to lead a petition campaign to get the GOP amendment on the ballot in 2026. House Democrats, meanwhile, say they plan to offer an alternative ballot security plan that could be adopted by the Legislature with simple majorities without having to go on the ballot.
Dems turn on 13th: A number of Michigan Democrats are trying to unseat two-term Democratic Congressman Shri Thanedar. “Detroit Democrats are once again trying to restore Black representation to the city by unseating an incumbent, as the party more broadly battles publicly over whether challenging their own is the right path forward. Donavan McKinney, a 32-year-old state representative, launched a Democratic campaign Monday in Michigan’s 13th Congressional District, joining former state Senator Adam Hollier in the race,” The Associated Press reports. “The race comes as House Democrats clash publicly over the party’s direction ahead of the 2026 midterms, where they hope to regain the majority.” Thanedar just this week introduced articles of impeachment against President Trump for high crimes and misdemeanors.
_______________________
Yours in political nerdiness,
Rick Pluta & Zoe Clark
Co-hosts, It’s Just Politics
