Twelve Republican-led states Monday sued U.S. President Joe Biden over his first executive order aimed at climate change, alleging he lacked the constitutional authority to implement new rules about greenhouse gases, according to local media. 

The federal lawsuit, led by Republican Attorney General Eric Schmitt of Missouri, argues that Biden violated the separation of powers clause in the Constitution because Congress, not the president, has the power to regulate. 

On Biden first day in the White House, he signed Executive Order 13990, directing federal agencies to calculate the "social cost" of greenhouse gas pollution by estimating "monetized damages" to inform future federal regulations, the report added.