Newsom, Walz urge Congress to block anti-climate bill in their ‘woke’ crusade

Top Democratic governors, including Minnesota's Tim Walz, California's Gavin Newsom and Illinois's J.B. Pritzker are urging Congress to reject legislation that would shield oil and gas companies from climate-related lawsuits, arguing taxpayers should not bear the costs of pollution.

"Communities all across our nation, in red states and blue states, have suffered and face staggering costs from fires, floods, storms, and heat waves that, according to scientists, are becoming more destructive as a result of the burning of fossil fuels," reads a letter penned by 10 Democrat governors.

The top state leaders, along with Democrat attorneys general, are pushing Congress to reject the Stop Climate Shakedowns Act of 2026, arguing it would protect oil and gas industries by granting immunity from lawsuits at the expense of taxpayers. Republicans argue the bill protects American energy from lawsuits that could bankrupt the industry, lead to job loss and drive up the cost of electricity and gasoline.

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People march as they take part in a strike to demand action on the global climate crisis on September 20, 2019 in New York City.  (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

"Such a guide is sorely needed as litigation involving climate science only grows in prevalence and urgency in our courts. Furthermore, the chapter’s removal does not change the scientific reality of climate change," wrote more than 20 attorneys general in their letter to Congress.

Jason Isaac, American Energy Institute CEO, told Fox News Digital that this is a "coordinated legal campaign to bankrupt lawful American energy producers through junk litigation."

"These companies legally produced the energy that heats and cools homes, powers hospitals, and fuels the American economy — and now a coalition of activist attorneys general and climate advocacy groups want to make them pay retroactively for doing exactly that," said Isaac.

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Climate activists attend a rally to end fossil fuels, in New York, Sunday, Sept. 17, 2023.  (AP Photo/Bryan Woolston)

The act was first introduced by Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Rep. Harriet Hageman, R-Wyo., in April. If passed, the act would clear over a dozen lawsuits filed against oil and gas industries brought by local and state governments.

"After many failed attempts to enact EU-style climate measures, activists have turned to suing energy companies in a thinly-veiled effort to impose a global carbon tax through the courts," Civitas Institute research director Michael Toth told Fox News Digital. 

"This climate lawfare threatens to hijack the federal government's authority over matters that bear directly on our national security."

California sued several major oil companies in 2023 as part of a broader Democratic effort to hold the fossil fuel industry accountable for climate change. The lawsuit, which remains tied up in litigation, reflects Gov. Gavin Newsom's longstanding opposition to the fossil fuel industry despite California being one of the nation's largest oil-producing states.

"These companies knew about the catastrophic consequences of fossil fuels. They covered it up. Suppressed scientific data. Spent millions to cast doubts on climate science. Time for them to pay," Newsom wrote on X at the time.

The letters from Democratic members and attorneys general come as the Supreme Court will hear a case in their fall term on ExxonMobil and Suncor Energy brought on by officials in Boulder, Colorado.

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Governor Gavin Newsom speaks onstage during the NYT Climate Forward 2025 at The Times Center. (Yana Paskova/Getty Images for NYT)

More than 70 House Republicans are urging the Supreme Court to reject the bid to hold major oil companies liable for climate change damages, calling the lawsuit a costly "war on American energy," Fox News Digital previously reported.

The case would decide whether federal law preempts localities from seeking relief for alleged climate damages in state courts. Boulder sued ExxonMobil and Suncor in 2018, alleging they contributed to climate change and misled the public about its risks.

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Alliance for Consumers Executive Director O.H. Skinner told Fox News that elected officials need to "push back against climate lawfare, stopping left-wing activists from using their woke lawfare playbook to push unpopular political beliefs through the courts."

"These activists push a woke agenda that hurts consumers by driving up costs and limiting what is on store shelves for consumers. This is the Biden playbook all over again," said Skinner.