Government Energy Policy, Business and Technology

Trump's Environmental Actions Spark Resistance in Many States

Stateline: Democratic governors, attorneys general and state legislators spent 2017 fighting President Donald Trump’s environmental agenda, and the conflict shows no sign of letting up this year.

Trump’s environmental and energy priorities are diametrically opposed to those of many left-leaning state officials. While the president has pushed to reduce regulations on businesses and open up new areas to oil, gas and coal extraction, Democrats generally want to crack down on polluters and reduce fossil fuel emissions that contribute to climate change

Add partisan outrage, and you get a recipe for a knock-down, drag-out fight. On issues from public lands to clean energy, Democratic attorneys general are suing the federal government, and Democratic state lawmakers are dreaming up ways to block or limit federal action. And from Washington state to Virginia, state leaders are getting behind policies — such as a tax on carbon emissions — that go against the president’s priorities.

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