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WASHINGTON, DC – The United States government has launched a lawsuit against the state of California, several of its officers, the California Air Resources Board, and the Western Climate Initiative Inc., because it says it is undermining President Donald Trump.

The governor of California has hit back accusing the president of abusing the power of his office to punish a political rival, “just like in Ukraine.”

The Federal government, in announcing it had filed a civil complaint on Wednesday, claimed California had unlawfully entered into a cap and trade agreement with the Canadian Province of Quebec.

“The state of California has veered outside of its proper constitutional lane to enter into an international emissions agreement. The power to enter into such agreements is reserved to the federal government, which must be able to speak with one voice in the area of U.S. foreign policy,” Assistant Attorney General Jeffrey Bossert Clark of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division said Wednesday. “California’s unlawful cap-and-trade agreement with Quebec undermines the president’s ability to negotiate competitive agreements with other nations, as the president sees fit,” he said.

“The Supreme Court has recognized that the interests of cities, counties and states, and the American people as a whole, requires the federal power in foreign relations to be reposed exclusively in the federal government, keeping it free from local interference,” a U.S. justice department statement released on Wednesday said.

According to the complaint, filed on Wednesday in the Eastern District of California, the defendants alleged to have attempted to pursue an independent foreign policy in the area of greenhouse gas regulation. The Constitution, according to the justice department, prohibits states from making treaties or compacts with foreign powers, yet, it says, California entered into a complex, integrated cap-and-trade program with the Canadian province of Quebec in 2013 without congressional approval.

“California’s agreement with Quebec, which the Western Climate Initiative facilitates (and where the Western Climate Initiative’s board is run by California and Quebec governmental actors), interferes with the proper execution of these federal responsibilities,” the justice department statement said. “Accordingly, today’s complaint asks the court to uphold the exclusive role of the federal government in conducting our foreign policy by declaring the agreement, and related statutes and regulations -unconstitutional, and enjoining their operation.”

California Governor. Gavin Newsom (pictured with the president) issued a statement Wednesday critical of the Trump administration move.

“The White House is yet again continuing its political vendetta against California, our climate policies and the health of our communities,” he said.

“Carbon pollution knows no borders, and the Trump administration’s abysmal record of denying climate change and propping up big polluters makes cross-border collaboration all the more necessary. California’s landmark cap-and-trade program has inspired the creation of dozens of businesses, is a model for similar policies around the world, and puts California well ahead of the pack as we prepare for a low-carbon future,” said the Californian governor.

“For years our state has proudly participated in a number of environmental partnerships that tackle the devastating effects of climate change to our health and economy. This latest attack shows that the White House has its head in the sand when it comes to climate change and serves no purpose other than continued political retribution.”

Later the governor said in a tweet: “The Trump Administration challenging California’s cap-and-trade agreement is a story about deep corruption, about Trump abusing the power of his office to punish a political rival, just like in Ukraine.”

(Photo credit: Evan Vucci/AP).