A federal judge ruled today in favor of the Trump administration to allow the Endangered Species Committee (also known as the "God Squad") to convene to consider exempting Gulf of Mexico oil industry activity from the Endangered Species Act. If the exemption is granted, it would put Rice’s whale, which is only found in the Gulf and currently has a population of 51 animals, at risk of extinction.
The Center for Biological Diversity filed an emergency lawsuit and a motion for a temporary restraining order to stop the March 31 meeting because they said Trump officials had failed to present a legal basis to justify the meeting. According to the Center, the court did not suggest that an exemption is legal or appropriate but declined to issue emergency relief.
“It’s disappointing that the court didn’t immediately stop Hegseth’s reckless power grab, but this is just the first battle in a longer fight to protect the Gulf’s endangered whales and turtles,” said Brett Hartl, government affairs director at the Center. “We’ll be outside the Department of the Interior on Tuesday protesting this outrageous abuse by Trump’s extinction committee. We’ll certainly be back in court to save the Rice’s whale and all of the Gulf of Mexico’s wildlife from being driven to extinction by the oil industry.”
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has cited “national security” to justify exempting oil and gas activities in the Gulf of Mexico from the ESA.
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