Trump sued after ordering coal plant to stay open — that's now releasing mercury into air

The Trump administration forced a Michigan coal plant to stay open, citing an “energy emergency," which has now led to hazardous emissions, according to The New York Times on Friday.

Michigan and environmental groups have decided to take the Energy Department to court, claiming Secretary Chris Wright's emergency order keeping a decades-old coal plant operating is illegal, The Times reported. The J.H. Campbell power station in West Olive, Michigan, was supposed to shut down in May 2025, but Wright pulled a last-minute move — claiming a Midwest power crisis demanded immediate action.

The battle now rages at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Wright's controversial order has been renewed multiple times and extended to four other coal plants nationwide, sparking fury from clean energy advocates.

The Department of Justice has argued that the Energy Department was responding to "a surge in demand from data centers and the specter of power cuts" and acting "within its rights under federal law," The Times added.

Robert N. Stander, deputy assistant attorney general, told The Times that the law the Trump administration invoked is used during emergencies.

"The secretary of energy is not required to wait for a blackout to happen," Stander said.

Keeping coal plants operating in the United States is costly — reaching hundreds of millions of dollars, according to The Times.

"Michigan’s petition said households and businesses would face higher electricity bills because of the order there, as well as increased air pollution," The Times reported.

The move to close the Campbell plant was "part of a long-term and multipart strategy to preserve coal and other fossil fuel generation under the guise of grid-reliability concerns," according to the state's attorney general petition.

"Burning coal creates hazardous emissions, including fine particles that when inhaled raise the risk of heart attacks, asthma, cancer and other conditions," according to The Times. "Coal also emits about twice as much planet-warming carbon dioxide as natural gas when burned for energy, and coal plants are the single largest source nationwide of emissions of mercury, a particularly potent neurotoxin."