White House Loses Bid to Halt Suit Over Trump Environmental Rule

The Biden administration must move forward in litigation over a Trump-era environmental review regulation after a federal court refused to hit pause on the case.

The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia on Friday rejected the Justice Department’s request for a 60-day freeze of proceedings in environmentalists’ challenge to the White House Council on Environmental Quality’s 2020 update to National Environmental Policy Act, or NEPA, rules.

• The unusual denial of the government’s request means the court could issue a ruling before the Biden administration has time to revisit the rule, which speeds up and narrows the scope ...