Donald Trump is dispatching a so-called “God squad” of top officials to revoke protections for endangered species in the Gulf of Mexico, purportedly to protect national security by expanding oil and gas industry operations.
If successful, the administration may kill off dozens of protected species – from Rice’s whales and whooping cranes to sea turtles.
The rarely used “God squad” provision in the Endangered Species Act (ESA) allows a president to convene a committee of agency heads empowered to effectively veto protections for species on the brink of extinction. The committee essentially weighs whether the benefits from a proposed project outweigh the continued existence of protected wildlife.
The Trump administration is attempting to justify the ESA exemption for “reasons of national security”, marking the first time a security claim has been made. However, oil and gas companies have not asked for the exemption, raising questions about why it is being requested, said Brett Hartl, government affairs director for the Center for Biological Diversity, which has sued to stop the committee from convening.
The move is presumably aimed at bringing down gas prices that are soaring amid the US-Israel war on Iran, opponents say. Trump wants to make it appear as if the administration is taking action over the growing crisis, but the claim that there is a national security threat is “nonsense” for a multitude of reasons, Hartl said.
“What is the threat here? Or is the main threat Donald Trump’s abysmal polling numbers?” Hartl asked. “This is performative and it’s red meat being thrown to the far-right and industry.”
Only about 51 Rice’s whales remain, and they and other wildlife are largely on the brink of extinction because of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil rig spill, which devastated the gulf when it leaked about 210m gallons.
The squad, officially called the Endangered Species Committee, includes seven federal agency leaders, who, in the rare instances in which a federal action of significant public or economic interest comes into “irresolvable conflict” with the ESA, each vote on whether the project’s benefits outweigh the protected species’ wellbeing.
If five of the seven votes are in favor of a project proceeding, it moves forward, which could drive species to extinction. It convenes on 31 March.
Among other actions, the “God squad” is proposing to override a National Marine Fisheries Service requirement for the oil and gas industry to drive ships at safe speeds in the eastern gulf and monitor the location of whales to avoid strikes and deaths.
Pete Hegseth, secretary of defense, is requesting to exempt all oil and gas industry activities in the Gulf of Mexico from the ESA, though the military and industry has not proposed a specific project, or cited a conflict.
“No one is asking for this,” Hartl said.
The administration is also attempting to exempt itself and Hegseth from following clear, specific protocol laid out in the ESA, again citing national security threats as justification.
The statute requires the committee’s documents and meetings to be open to the public. It has withheld public documents requested by the Center for Biological Diversity, Hartl said. Its allegedly open meeting was livestreamed, but not open to the public, the center states in its lawsuit.
The “God squad” has only been convened three times, and the only project on which it overrode the ESA was a dam, but the plans included meaningful provisions that helped at-risk cranes survive. Andrew Bowman, president of the Defenders of Wildlife advocacy group, said no administration from either party has attempted to avoid the protocols as Hegseth has.
“Hegseth’s posturing that our national security somehow requires risking the extinction of the gulf’s threatened and endangered species by ignoring the ESA’s requirements is breathtaking in its utter contempt for America’s national wildlife heritage – and the rule of law,” Bowman said in a statement.
Even if Hegseth and the administration followed the protocol, it is unclear whether lowering gas prices fits with 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 it was intended to apply to military exercises or drills.
The Center for Biological Diversity’s first suit was argued on Friday during an emergency hearing, and a judge has yet to rule. The suit focuses on the administration’s failure to follow protocol.
The administration could very easily follow the protocol and again file for an exemption within a few days, Hartl said. If it does, then the Center for Biological Diversity will probably relitigate, and argue against the use of gas prices as an exemption justification.
“It’s tragic that the Rice’s whale, which has lived in this planet’s oceans for millions of years, could now go extinct because of a small man’s petty indifference,” Hartl said.
