Scalise leads GOP effort to block Colorado climate lawsuits
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise and 102 Republican lawmakers have filed an amicus brief with the Supreme Court, urging it to halt climate lawsuits against Exxon and Suncor Energy from Boulder, Colorado. The Republicans argue that such cases represent a federal matter involving global emissions, not state jurisdiction. The move comes after the Colorado Supreme Court allowed the suits to proceed in May.
In a push to protect the American energy industry, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, along with 102 Republican colleagues, submitted a "friend of the court" brief to the U.S. Supreme Court on October 10, 2025. The brief seeks to block lawsuits filed by Boulder, Colorado, against Exxon and Suncor Energy, which originated in 2018. These suits accuse the companies of downplaying the risks of burning oil and gas, demanding damages under Colorado law for alleged misleading of the public.
The energy giants have appealed to the Supreme Court after the Colorado Supreme Court's May ruling permitted the cases to advance in state courts. That decision held that federal law does not prevent Boulder from pursuing claims that the companies misled citizens about climate impacts. Boulder Mayor Aaron Brockett celebrated the ruling, stating, "This ruling affirms what we’ve known all along: corporations cannot mislead the public and avoid accountability for the damages they have caused. Our community has suffered significantly from the consequences of climate change, and today’s decision brings us one step closer to justice and the resources we need to protect our future."
Scalise emphasized the stakes for national energy security. "Every day, hardworking Americans depend on access to affordable and reliable energy," he said. "Despite this, radical environmentalists and local leftist politicians continue to wage war on American energy by going after domestic energy companies in our courtrooms, demanding they meet impossible standards or pay billions in damages. Any regulation of global greenhouse emissions falls squarely within the federal government's jurisdiction."
The brief warns that the lawsuits, centered on cross-border emissions, could lead to tens of billions in damages and potentially bankrupt the industry, especially with similar cases nationwide. It argues that allowing such suits supplants Congress's authority, creating a "balkanized patchwork of state and local regulation over matters of uniquely federal concern." Scalise added, "Energy security is national security — we cannot allow state and local governments to supersede federal authority and put our country at risk for their own extreme political agenda."
The Republicans contend that national energy policy must be decided at the federal level, not in local courtrooms, to avoid threatening the reliable energy that supports American life.