Interior Must Face State Challenge to Oil Leasing Pause (1)

The Biden administration must face a lawsuit by Louisiana and 12 other states who say the president exceeded his authority with an executive order pausing oil and gas leasing, a Louisiana federal court ruled Wednesday.

The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana adopted a magistrate judge’s recommendation against dismissing the lawsuit over the Justice Department’s objections. The lawsuit centers on President Joe Biden’s executive order, which says the Secretary of the Interior “shall pause new oil and gas leases on public lands.”

The executive order “unambiguously” instructs the secretary to follow the language “shall pause,” regardless of ...