Rubbish Check
ABC News Business · 11 September 2026
source“Federal court rejects Trump order keeping Michigan coal plant open”
R1/ 10
Base fact
Rubbish Rating — 1 = base fact, 10 = pure rubbish
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In short
Rubbish Talk rates ABC News's headline that a "federal court rejects Trump order keeping Michigan coal plant open" a 1/10 because the D.C. Circuit did exactly that, unanimously vacating the DOE's emergency order in a ruling corroborated by multiple independent outlets and legal filings.
The Verdict
Base fact. The headline states precisely what happened, no more and no less: a federal appeals court struck down the administration's order. Every load-bearing word ("rejects," "keeping open") matches the court's own findings, and the article body backs it with the judge's reasoning, the dollar cost, and both sides' reactions. There's no spin to detect here.
What actually happened
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled that the Department of Energy grossly overstepped its authority when it prevented the retirement of the J.H. Campbell coal plant. Energy Secretary Chris Wright had invoked emergency powers under Section 202(c) of the Federal Power Act to keep the 64-year-old plant running past its scheduled retirement, and the court ruled unanimously that there was no emergency under federal law that justified keeping the plant online. Michigan, Illinois, Minnesota, and environmental groups had brought the challenge.
Key facts
- The ruling was unanimous, from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
- Judge Cornelia Pillard wrote that the emergency provision of the Federal Power Act was intended as a "narrow, last-resort backstop."
- DOE issued the original order under Section 202(c) in May 2025, days before the plant's planned retirement, and has since re-issued it six times.
- Operating the plant unnecessarily cost more than $248 million through June, according to the company's SEC filings, roughly $642,000 a day.
- The order also touches similar disputes: Consumers Energy had worked for several years to develop plans and secure regulatory approval to retire the old Campbell plant and replace it with new generation sources, plans this order overrode.
What to watch for
- Given the panel's makeup and the stakes for the administration, a petition for en banc rehearing or Supreme Court review is likely to follow.
- Watch how this ruling affects the other coal and gas plants under similar orders in Indiana, Colorado, Florida, Washington state, and the Eddystone plant in Pennsylvania, since the legal reasoning applies directly to those cases.
- Track whether Consumers Energy or ratepayers seek to recover the roughly $250 million in compliance costs now that the underlying order has been vacated.
About this scoreThe R-Score is Rubbish Talk's editorial opinion on how far a headline's framing sits from what the underlying facts support. It is a judgement about presentation and emphasis, not an allegation that any outlet has acted dishonestly. Every figure we rely on is linked under Receipts so you can check it yourself.
