Scalise, GOP lawmakers call Boulder County climate suit 'war for American power'
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FIRST ON FOX: More than 70 lawmakers are awaiting a Colorado state effort to hold major oil companies financially accountable for alleged climate change damage.
A group of House Republicans led by House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., is asking the Supreme Court to side with ExxonMobil and Suncor Energy in a high-profile climate change lawsuit that opponents call “America's energy war.”
GOP lawmakers characterized the Boulder County lawsuit as a “dangerous overreach” that could leave major fossil fuel companies on the hook for billions of dollars in alleged damages. A positive decision by the liberal state could encourage more lawsuits that could threaten the financial viability of the oil industry, they warn.
“Radical activists are trying to use the courts to accomplish what they couldn't accomplish with the law — to force their agenda on the American people and drive up energy costs,” Scalise said in a statement obtained by Fox News Digital. “These lawsuits will give local political activists the power to dictate national energy policy and threaten our economy's most powerful energy producers.”
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, joined by House Majority Whip Tom Emmer and House Speaker Mike Johnson, held a news conference after the House Republican Conference meeting at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on Jan. 13, 2026. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
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Attorneys at the law firm Boyden Gray filed an amicus, or “friend of the court,” brief on behalf of congressional Republicans.
The court is expected to hear oral arguments this fall in Suncor v. Boulder on whether federal law bars localities from seeking relief for alleged weather damage in state courts. A decision is expected in 2027.
The case reached the nation's highest court after the Colorado Supreme Court allowed a years-old lawsuit to proceed under state law, despite lingering questions about whether properties can seek damages for transboundary greenhouse gas emissions. Boulder initially sued the major oil companies in 2018, alleging that they are knowingly contributing to global warming and misleading the public about alleged climate damage.
The amicus Republicans brief says the debt claims are subject to federal jurisdiction, because allowing state courts to judge global climate damage would lead to an “explosion of state laws” that undermine Congress' role in shaping national energy policy.
“The court must dismiss the defendants' attempt to establish their 'foreign policy' in the Boulder court,” the brief reads.
House Republicans say Boulder County's lawsuit against ExxonMobil and Suncor Energy amounts to “America's energy war.” (Justin Hamel/Bloomberg)
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The signatories also warned that a decision in favor of Boulder County could cause devastating economic losses to American energy producers.
“The magnitude of the alleged damage will restructure, if not completely destroy, the American energy industry — and cause dire consequences around the world, especially if it is replicated in dozens of similar cases across the country,” the brief continued.
The legal battle is also spilling over into Colorado politics, where Republicans argue that climate-related lawsuits pushed by Democrats threaten jobs and raise energy costs.
Rep. Gabe Evans, R-Colo., a new lawmaker who represents a district near the city of Boulder, blamed the lawsuit as part of Democrats' efforts to make energy production unaffordable.
“These lawsuits and regulations aren't just an attack on oil and gas companies — they're an attack on Colorado jobs, America's energy independence and all the families who are already struggling with high costs,” Evans, who signed the brief, told Fox News Digital. “I will continue to fight to protect Colorado's energy workers and deliver the most comprehensive energy strategy our state needs.”
Rep. Gabe Evans speaks during a news conference at Fort St. Vrain Generating Station in Platteville, Colo., on March 9, 2026. (Chet Strange/Bloomberg)
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The Republicans' emphasis on procurement comes as the party grapples with voter frustration over higher-than-usual gas prices linked to the conflict with Iran.
Nearly 90% of voters called rising gas prices “a problem,” according to the Fox News Poll published in May.
