"Staff shortages, turnover, and new priorities at the Department of Justice are stretching legal staff handling environmental issues and causing unusual delays—even before the government shutdown.
President Donald Trump’s moves to overhaul the federal workforce and realign environmental policies toward business-friendly approaches are delaying lawsuits, consent decrees, and other legal work, according to private sector attorneys. The delays are affecting cases involving climate change, air pollution, and other traditional environmental litigation, as well as Trump’s priorities, they say.
“Settlements in the environmental arena have slowed down,” said Heidi Friedman, a partner and co-chair of Thompson Hine LLP’s corporate sustainability practice.
Whether the delays are due to staff cuts or personnel focusing on the administration’s priorities isn’t clear, she said.
Whatever the reason, delays have consequences, said Mark Miller, director of environment and natural resources litigation at the Pacific Legal Foundation, referring to his experiences with property rights litigation."
Pat Rizzuto and Stephen Lee report for Bloomberg Environment October 9, 2025.
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