A climate activist group backed by billionaire Michael Bloomberg quietly closed in late August while facing congressional and legal scrutiny over its funding and operations.
The State Energy and Environmental Impact Center was housed at the New York University School of Law, as reported [1] by The Free Beacon.
The center’s main initiative placed paid, climate-focused fellows inside state attorney general offices controlled by Democrats.
Those offices pursued lawsuits against oil companies and other energy providers while the fellows’ salaries were covered by the center.
The shutdown came with little warning. The center continued updating a public database of state attorney general actions tied to its climate priorities through Aug. 31, the apparent date of its closure.
Less than three weeks before that date, the organization released an episode of its in-house podcast, Recharged with the State Impact Center.
Its 2025 year-in-review report, released last December, also indicated that operations would continue throughout 2026.
No press release or social media announcement accompanied the closure. The center’s website now describes its contents as “historical material as it existed on August 31, 2026.”
Much of the website remains available, but the listed contact email is now a private address unaffiliated with NYU.
A page naming members of the advisory board was removed, while the former executive and deputy directors no longer identify the center as their current employer on LinkedIn, according to a Washington Free Beacon review.
Scrutiny had intensified over the center’s role in paying salaries for officials placed inside state law enforcement offices.
Bloomberg helped establish the center in 2017 through two seed grants worth $2.8 million each.
Tax filings show the money came through the Bloomberg Family Foundation, Bloomberg’s charity focused on climate activism.
Media reports and lawmakers frequently called the participating officials “Bloomberg fellows” because of the billionaire’s role in creating the program.
The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee opened an investigation last year, saying the arrangement “raise questions as to whether participating state attorneys general are acting on independent judgement to best serve the interests of their states’ citizens.”
“The Bloomberg-NYU program effectively offers states partisan money from a billionaire to carry out official functions of their offices,” the panel wrote.
It also said Bloomberg “disguises his donations as ‘philanthropy'” and uses the center “to skirt legislative bodies and effect partisan policy.”
Committee chairman Rep. James Comer, a Kentucky Republican, told the Free Beacon that he remained concerned the center “undermined public integrity and pushed radical Democrat policies that increase energy costs for Americans, despite billing itself as ‘nonpartisan.’”
“The Committee is glad to see that this center will no longer be in operation,” Comer added.
Wisconsin State Senate leaders launched a separate investigation months after Comer began his inquiry.
Their investigation focused on the state attorney general’s employment of a “special attorney general” whose $90,000 annual salary was paid by the center.
The Wisconsin Senate also established a committee to coordinate that investigation.
“Outside influence from highly self-interested sources is unacceptable,” committee chair and Wisconsin State Senate president Mary Felzkowski, a Republican, said at the time.
Two Wisconsin organizations representing dairy farmers also sued the state attorney general over the office’s arrangement with the center.
They argued that it provided “unique, insider access and influence over DOJ’s work on agricultural and other environmental issues.”
The February 2025 complaint suggested that the center’s fellow had coordinated enforcement actions taken against Wisconsin dairy farmers. Court records show an oral ruling in that case is scheduled for later this month.
Since its creation, the center has placed climate fellows in attorney general offices in Washington, D.C., and at least 10 states, including Minnesota, Maryland, and New York.
It exclusively hired fellows to work for Democrats.
Those officials participated in actions targeting the oil and gas industry, supporting wind and solar development, and opposing the Trump administration’s energy agenda.
Lauren Cullum, the fellow placed in the Washington, D.C., attorney general’s office, worked on several climate actions after being hired in 2022.
Cullum, whose official title is special assistant attorney general, was listed as a prosecutor in environmental justice lawsuits against chemical companies.
She also represented Washington, D.C., in federal comment letters supporting green energy initiatives.
The center later expanded by placing fellows in state public service commissions, which regulate utilities and permit infrastructure including pipelines and power plants.
Its advisory council included the CEO of a major wind energy developer and a vice president of the American Clean Power Association.
The State Energy and Environmental Impact Center and Bloomberg Philanthropies did not respond to requests for comment.