Missouri joins lawsuit to undo Biden pause on US oil and gas lease sales

NEW ORLEANS (AP)

Louisiana, Missouri and 11 other states are suing the Biden administration to end a suspension of oil and gas leasing on federal lands and waters.

Louisiana's Republican Attorney General, Jeff Landry, announced the federal lawsuit Wednesday. The suit also seeks a court order that the government go ahead with two offshore lease sales that had been set for this year. One in the Gulf of Mexico had been set for March 17 until the administration canceled it. Another had been planned this year for Alaska's Cook Inlet.

Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Georgia, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah and West Virginia are the other plaintiff states.

Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt announced in a news release that the state is joining the lawsuit, the same day that he announced a run for a U.S. Senate seat.

“President Biden’s actions will negatively impact a wide swath of Missourians and Missouri industries, including agriculture, manufacturing, and more," Schmitt said in the release. "Missourians are already feeling the pain at the gas pump, and if President Biden continues to rule by executive order, it will only get worse.”