Trump's Justice Department Seeks to Halt Air Pollution Lawsuit Against Elon Musk's Data Center

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https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/16/climate/xai-musk-mississippi-grok-turbine-lawsuit-naacp.html

D.O.J. Seeks to Halt Air Pollution Lawsuit Against xAI Data Center
The department cited national security concerns, saying Elon Musk’s company had played a crucial role in the Iran war. It also argued it has the authority to stop environmental lawsuits brought by citizens.
By Karen Zraick and Hiroko Tabuchi
June 16, 2026

In an unusually aggressive move, the Justice Department told a federal court in Mississippi that Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company, xAI, has the right to run dozens of polluting gas-burning turbines in the state despite not having permits for them.

The Justice Department late on Monday said that the court should throw out a lawsuit against xAI that was brought by the NAACP claiming that the turbines violate the Clean Air Act. The suit threatens national security by “seeking to shut off the power supply for artificial-intelligence innovation that supports the Department of War’s military operations,” according to the memo, which was signed by Stanley Woodward Jr., associate attorney general and the No. 3 official in the department.

The memo also argued that the federal government should have unchallenged authority to stop environmental lawsuits brought by private groups or individuals.

“It’s remarkable for the United States to intervene on behalf of a polluter in a case like this,” said Laura Thoms, director of enforcement at Earthjustice, which represents the NAACP along with the Southern Environmental Law Center. “Ordinarily, they would intervene to enforce the law,” she said, referring to the Clean Air Act, which requires facilities like power plants to seek permits and install pollution-control technologies.

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