Washington (CNN) The Supreme Court rejected the Trump administration's request Friday to stop a lawsuit brought by youths who are seeking to hold the government accountable for failing to do enough to fight climate change.

The administration had asked the court to halt the lawsuit, saying it was "misguided" and a "radical invasion of the separation of powers."

In its unsigned order, the court said the administration had not reached the high bar necessary to halt the lawsuit for now. But the justices suggested that the government might be able to seek relief at the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals at a later stage of the litigation.

The vote total was not released, Justices Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch said they would have ruled in favor of the administration.

"The court went out of its way to stress that the government can still try to stop this case from going forward," said Steve Vladeck, CNN Supreme Court analyst and a professor at the University of Texas law school. "The court appears to have coalesced around a narrow compromise to defuse, for the moment, major litigation against the Trump administration."

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