Trump to revoke protections for endangered species in Gulf of Mexico | Donald Trump

Donald Trump sending A so-called “God team” of top officials to rescind protections for endangered species in the Gulf of Mexico in order to protect national security by expanding oil and gas industry operations.

If successful, management could lead to the extinction of dozens of protected species, from Rice whales to whooping cranes to sea turtles.

The rarely used “God team” provision in the Endangered Species Act (ESA) allows a president to convene a committee of agency heads with the power to effectively veto the protection of species on the brink of extinction. Essentially, the committee considers whether the benefits from a proposed project outweigh the continued existence of protected wildlife.

The Trump administration is trying to justify the ESA exemption with “national security reasons”; This marks the first time a security claim has been made. But Brett Hartl, director of government affairs at the Center for Biological Diversity, said the fact that oil and gas companies have not requested the exemption raises questions about why it was requested. A lawsuit was filed to stop The committee was not allowed to meet.

Opponents say the move is likely aimed at reducing gas prices, which have risen during the US-Israeli war against Iran. Hartl said Trump wanted to make it seem like the administration was taking action against the growing crisis, but the claim that there was a national security threat was “nonsense” for many reasons.

“What’s the threat here? Or is the real threat Donald Trump’s terrible poll results?” Hartl asked. “This is for performance purposes and a throwback to red meat to the far right and the industry.”

Only about 51 rice whales remain, and they and other wildlife are largely on the verge of extinction due to the 2010 Horizon Deepwater oil rig spill that devastated the bay, totaling approximately 210 million gallons.

Officially called the Endangered Species Committee, the team consists of seven federal agency leaders who each vote on whether the project’s benefits outweigh the welfare of protected species in the rare case that a federal action of significant public or economic interest comes into “irresolvable conflict” with the ESA.

If five out of seven games favor a project moving forward, the project will move forward, which could lead to species extinction. It meets on March 31.

Among other actions, the “God Team” proposes overriding a National Marine Fisheries Service requirement that the oil and gas industry drive ships at safe speeds in the eastern Gulf and monitor the locations of whales to prevent attacks and deaths.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is demanding that all oil and gas industry activities in the Gulf of Mexico be exempt from the ESA, but the military and industry have not proposed any specific projects or mentioned a conflict.

“No one wants this,” Hartl said.

The administration is also trying to exempt himself and Hegseth from following the clear and specific protocol laid out in the ESA, again citing national security threats as justification.

The charter requires that the committee’s documents and meetings be available to the public. Hartl said he withheld public documents requested by the Center for Biological Diversity. The center states in its lawsuit that the allegedly public meeting was livestreamed but not open to the public.

The “God team” met only three times, and the only project for which it exceeded the ESA was a dam, but the plans included meaningful provisions to help at-risk cranes survive. Andrew Bowman, president of the advocacy group Defenders of Wildlife, said no administration in either party has tried to avoid protocols like Hegseth’s.

“Hegseth’s suggestion that our national security somehow requires ignoring the requirements of the ESA and risking extinction of the Gulf’s threatened and endangered species is breathtaking in its utter disdain for America’s national wildlife heritage and the rule of law,” Bowman said in a statement.

Even if Hegseth and the administration had followed protocol, it was unclear whether lowering gas prices was in the spirit of the law, Hartl said. He noted that Congress included a military exemption when passing the ESA, but lawmakers at the time made clear that it was intended to apply to military exercises or drills.

The Center for Biological Diversity’s first case was argued at an emergency hearing on Friday, and the judge has yet to rule. The case focuses on management’s failure to comply with protocol.

Hartl said the administration can easily follow protocol and re-apply for an exemption within a few days. If that happens, the Center for Biological Diversity will likely file a lawsuit again and challenge the use of gas prices as grounds for exemption.

“It is tragic that the Rice whale, which has lived in the oceans of this planet for millions of years, has become extinct due to the petty indifference of one little man,” Hartl said.