U.S. Government Overrides Endangered Species Protections for Oil Drilling in Gulf of Mexico
Press Release Date: March 31, 2026
Location: WASHINGTON
Contact:
Cory Gunkel, Erin Vande Ven | email: cgunkel@oceana.org, EVandeVen@oceana.org | tel: Cory Gunkel, 303.829.3877
Today, the Endangered Species Committee unilaterally eliminated key Endangered Species Act (ESA) protections for marine life in the Gulf of Mexico – including the critically endangered Rice’s whale – to clear the way for offshore oil and gas drilling.
The Endangered Species Committee, also known as the “God Squad,” refers to a board of political appointees who can override protections granted by the ESA in favor of economic interests. The Committee took this action after a finding from the Secretary of Defense that the exemption for oil and gas exploration was needed for reasons of “national security.” The national security provision of the ESA has never been invoked.
The Gulf of Mexico is home to 20 threatened and endangered species, including sea turtles, sturgeon, manta rays, sharks, and whales.
“Today, the Trump administration exploited a never-before-used power to exempt oil and gas activities in the Gulf of Mexico from the Endangered Species Act. The ruling puts endangered species on an unnecessary fast track to extinction,” said Oceana Vice President Beth Lowell. “For more than 50 years, the Endangered Species Act has protected endangered and threatened wildlife by ensuring that the federal government reviews projects and provides measures to minimize the threat to species on the brink of extinction. Today’s action reverses this trend by putting profits over protections. It is not what the authors of this bedrock law intended.”
On today’s committee were Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins, Secretary of the Army Daniel P. Driscoll, Acting Chair of the Council of Economic Advisors Pierre Yared, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin, and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Administrator Neil Jacobs.
This committee has only been convened three times in the more than 40 years since its establishment — all under the regular procedures for an exemption. It has never been convened to consider a national security exemption.


