Several people involved with the study said the heat drawn by the early disclosure of the document might well have the opposite of its intended effect.
Facing Trump's proposals for cutting programs that help minorities and the poor, Democrats scramble to make up for missed opportunities to protect them.
The Sierra Club, the Natural Resources Defense Council, the Environmental Defense Fund, and other environmental organizations filed the suit to prevent the EPA from suspending Obama-era regulations to reduce methane pollution from the oil and gas industry.