By Jack Queen
(Reuters) -A federal judge in Montana on Wednesday threw out a lawsuit by youth activists seeking to block U.S. President Donald Trump’s pro-fossil fuel energy policies, finding he lacked the power to act.
A group of young people represented by the nonprofit Our Children’s Trust sued in May, arguing Trump’s executive orders aimed at “unleashing” American energy were unconstitutional.
U.S. District Judge Dana L. Christensen said in an order that while the activists had shown they would be harmed by Trump’s policies, they asked him to assume a sweeping role in climate regulation that would overstep his powers as a judge.
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“This court would be required to monitor an untold number of federal agency actions to determine whether they contravene its injunction. This is, quite simply, an unworkable request for which plaintiffs provide no precedent,” Christensen said.
Neither lawyers for the activists nor the Justice Department immediately responded to requests for comment.
(Reporting by Jack Queen in New York; Additional reporting by Luc Cohen; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama, Rod Nickel)