Trump Administration Considers Endangered Species Act Exemption to Support Oil & Gas Activities in Gulf of Mexico

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WASHINGTON, D.C. — On Monday, March 16, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum announced via notice in the Federal Register that the Endangered Species Committee — a federal panel created in 1978 that has rarely met over the past decade — would convene a meeting on March 31 to address a potential Endangered Species Act exemption related to oil and gas activities in the Gulf of Mexico.

The Endangered Species Committee, which is colloquially referred to as the “God Squad,” has power to override protections under the Endangered Species Act. The Gulf of Mexico is home to the critically endangered Rice’s whale, which exists nowhere else on Earth. Fewer than 100 of the animals are estimated to be alive right now.

The National Marine Fisheries Service issued an opinion in 2025 finding that oil and gas activities in the Gulf are “likely to jeopardize the continued existence of the Rice’s whale.” Conservation groups including the Sierra Club sued over the decision, saying it did not go far enough to protect this rare species.

In response to the news, Sierra Club’s National Wildlife Campaign Manager Ben Greuel issued the following statement:

“The Trump Administration is playing god with our most vulnerable wildlife by deciding behind closed doors which endangered species are worth saving, and which can be sacrificed to pad oil and gas profits. The Endangered Species Act is designed to prevent extinction, not to provide a political escape hatch for corporate polluters. Resurrecting the rarely used ‘God Squad’ to sidestep basic wildlife protections at the behest of the oil and gas industry is a dangerous abuse of power that is likely to tip an imperiled species like the Rice’s whale over the brink of extinction. The Sierra Club will fight this reckless effort every step of the way.”

About the Sierra Club

The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person’s right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.