The Trump administration has said the safeguards would reduce U.S. energy competitiveness as the war with Iran continues.
Published March 31, 2026
A commission linked to U.S. President Donald Trump has exempted oil and gas drillers in the Gulf of Mexico from protections under the Endangered Species Act, which aims to protect endangered species.
On Tuesday, the government’s Endangered Species Committee convened an unusual meeting to consider whether protection should be lifted.
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The panel, made up of six senior Trump administration officials, ultimately voted unanimously in favor of lifting restrictions.
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said at the conference that environmental regulations could hinder U.S. energy production as the ongoing war with Iran disrupts energy markets.
“The disruption to Gulf oil production doesn’t just hurt us; it benefits our adversaries,” Hegseth said.
“We cannot allow our own rules to weaken our position and strengthen those who seek to harm us. If development in the Gulf region cools, we will not be able to produce the energy we need as a country and as a sector.”
But environmental groups oppose the decision, and a legal battle is expected in the coming months.
This is the fourth time in U.S. history that the Endangered Species Commission has met, and Tuesday marks the third time the commission has granted exemptions from the Endangered Species Act.
The Endangered Species Act of 1973, considered a landmark law, prohibits actions that could kill or harm endangered species or their habitat.
The law was invoked in the Gulf of Mexico to protect vulnerable species such as the rice whale, which lives only in the ecosystem. Scientists estimate that there may only be about 50 of the rare whales left.
Birds, sea turtles, and Gulf sturgeon are also among the native species protected by this law.
Hegseth first called for a meeting of the Endangered Species Committee on March 13, arguing that increased oil and gas production in the Gulf of Mexico was necessary for “national security reasons.”
But critics refer to the commission as “God’s troops,” referring to the power it has over the survival of the species.
Tuesday’s committee included Trump appointees, including Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum and Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins.
Advocates have vowed to challenge the exemption, arguing that the Trump administration failed to comply with protocols set out in the Endangered Species Act. They also question whether the basis for Tuesday’s exemption is justified by the facts.
“The Endangered Species Act is not slowing down massive oil extraction from the Gulf,” said Andrew Bowman, president of the advocacy group Defenders of Wildlife. “I cannot stress enough how unprecedented and illegal this action is.”
Environmental protection is a low priority for the Trump administration, which dismisses climate change as a “hoax” while rolling back existing rules and promoting fossil fuel policies.
“If President Trump succeeds here, he could become the first person in history to intentionally wipe out a species from the face of the earth,” Patrick Parenteau, professor emeritus of law at Vermont Law School, told The Associated Press. “That’s why the rice whale’s condition is so dangerous.”
