The 64-year-old Michigan power plant was set to retire. Then the Trump
administration intervened in a way that overstepped its authority, a court ruled.

Court Strikes Down Trump Order to
Keep an Aging Coal-Burning Plant Running
Claire Brown and Brad Plumer / The New York Times

(September 11, 2026) — A federal appeals court on Friday struck down an order from the Trump administration that forced a coal plant in Michigan to stay open past its scheduled retirement date — dealing a blow to President Trump’s efforts to promote the coal industry.

For more than a year, the Energy Department has ordered the J.H. Campbell coal plant in West Olive, Michigan, to keep running despite its plans to close in May 2025, citing an “energy emergency.”

On Friday, a three-judge panel at the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled that the administration overstepped in its use of emergency powers.

The Michigan plant is one of several coal plants that the Energy Department has forced to stay open using emergency orders under a provision of the Federal Power Act. The provision had been used by previous administrations for only a few days at a time during extreme weather events.

The Trump administration has repeatedly renewed its orders governing the plant every 90 days. The state of Michigan sued, joined by Illinois, Minnesota and a coalition of environmental groups.

In the ruling, Judge Cornelia Pillard emphasized that it’s up to states to decide how to manage power generation, and that the federal government should only intervene when states and grid operators are unable or unwilling to respond.