Congress is investigating a coordinated effort – led by billionaire Michael Bloomberg and funneled through New York University – to shape state-level climate and energy policy via state attorneys general, raising serious ethical concerns about outside influence on public legal offices.   

On Thursday, House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY) announced a formal investigation into the State Energy & Environmental Impact Center (SEEIC) at NYU School of Law. Launched in 2017 with a $5.6 million grant from Bloomberg Philanthropies, SEEIC places so-called “climate fellows” directly into state attorney general offices, funding their salaries to primarily support lawfare against the U.S. energy sector.  

The arrangement has long raised major ethical and constitutional concerns: Is it appropriate for a private billionaire – with a vested financial and ideological interest in eliminating oil and natural gas – to fund public legal personnel to sue private actors, and shape local and federal enforcement? Chairman Comer says no. 

Partisan Placements with a Political Agenda 

To date, SEEIC fellows – who are named as special assistant attorneys general (SAAGs) – have been embedded exclusively in Democratic-led AG offices across at least ten states, including New York, Minnesota, and Wisconsin, as well as the District of Columbia. These fellows have supported the filing of lawsuits, regulatory comment letters, and other legal strategies aligned with Bloomberg’s climate policy priorities. 

Chairman Comer’s letters to SEEIC and Bloomberg Philanthropies cite concerns over private influence on public enforcement powers: 

“The role of an attorney general is vital to America’s legal system … The circumstances surrounding the State Impact Center raise questions as to whether participating state attorneys general are acting on independent judgment to best serve the interests of their states’ citizens.” 

A SEEIC-funded fellow in D.C. reportedly represented the city in at least four climate lawsuits and co-authored more than 20 comment letters pushing for stricter federal climate regulations, according to recent reporting by the Washington Free Beacon. Earlier this year in Wisconsin, the state’s dairy industry sued Attorney General Josh Kaul and the state Department of Justice, alleging that a Bloomberg-funded fellow was unlawfully hired and using his role to pursue environmental claims against local farmers.   

SEEIC has also placed at least two fellows in the Louisiana Public Service Commission with those individuals hired to work under the state’s Public Service Commissioner, a body that has significant influence over renewable energy policy. 

A Broader Pattern of Partisan Activist Lawfare 

The SEEIC program’s advisory council includes executives from industries that stand to benefit from more aggressive climate litigation and regulation that its fellows pursue. While NYU and participating AG offices claim compliance with state ethics rules, Chairman Comer points out this effort is clearly partisan – bypassing voters and legislatures in favor of lawfare and regulatory attacks on energy, all funded by special interests and sure to negatively impact American consumers: 

“Bloomberg disguises his donations as ‘philanthropy’ and uses the State Impact Center as a mechanism to skirt legislative bodies and effect partisan policy. … The average American household will pay the cost of this destructive agenda in the form of subsidies and regulations, fewer energy options, taxes to fund federal agencies’ legal defense, and higher utility bills.”  

Recall that Bloomberg and Rockefeller-funded interests claimed credit for the Biden administration’s notorious pause on LNG exports last year, an issue that became a flashpoint in the 2024 election cycle.  

Legislative Pushback Grows 

In recent years, state legislatures have woken up to the questionable ethics that these arrangements pose. Wisconsin lawmakers introduced a bill in February that would prohibit the hiring of attorneys hired by outside groups. Similar legislation has been put forth in Minnesota, another state to come under fire over the hiring of Bloomberg SAAGs.  

In 2019, amidst controversy over the Virginia attorney general’s interest in the SAAG program, legislators passed a budget amendment requiring staff in the attorney general’s office to be paid from the state treasury.  

Bottom Line: At the center of this investigation is a serious question: should a single billionaire be allowed to fund and embed legal staff within the offices of state attorneys general to advance his partisan, activist agenda? If the committee’s July 31 deadline to respond passes without sufficient production or responses from SEEIC and Bloomberg Philanthropies, it’s fair to suspect subpoenas could be forthcoming.