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U.S. 'God Squad' Grants Gulf Oil Drilling a Blanket Exemption From the Endangered Species Act

The rare national security waiver faces swift legal challenges from conservation groups.

FILE - An oil tanker passes at sunrise while a man fishes in Port Aransas, Texas, Aug. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Eric Gay, File)
FILE - A supply vessel boat sits near an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico, off the coast of Louisiana. April 10, 2011. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert, File)
FILE - Bleached coral sits next to healthy coral during a scuba dive at the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary in the Gulf of Mexico, off the coast of Galveston, Texas, Sept. 15, 2023. (AP Photo/LM Otero, File)
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum speaks during a Cabinet meeting at the White House on March 26. Burgum convened a meeting of the Endangered Species Committee — also known as the "God Squad" — on March 31.

Overview

  • The Endangered Species Committee, which met Tuesday for the first time in more than 30 years, voted unanimously to waive Endangered Species Act rules for all Gulf of Mexico oil and gas exploration, development and production.
  • Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth requested the waiver on March 13, arguing that environmental lawsuits and war-driven energy shocks threaten Gulf output needed for national security.
  • Federal scientists estimate only about 50 Rice’s whales remain, and prior NOAA reviews found vessel strikes, seismic noise and oil spills from drilling are likely to jeopardize the species.
  • Environmental groups including the Center for Biological Diversity and Earthjustice said they will sue to block the exemption after a judge last week declined to stop the committee from convening.
  • Legal scholars say this is the first use of the ESA’s national security clause and warn it could set a lasting precedent for rolling back wildlife safeguards in the name of energy security.