Donald Trump\u2019s administration, backed by House Republicans and Elon Musk\u2019s Doge agency, are carrying out an attack on the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and federal wildlife agencies that, if successful, will almost certainly drive numerous species into extinction, environmental advocates warn.<\/p>\n
The three-pronged attack is designed to freeze endangered wildlife protections to more quickly push through oil, gas and development projects, opponents say.<\/p>\n
In recent weeks, the US president has said he will assemble a \u201cGod squad\u201d, or committee empowered to effectively veto ESA protections for species on the brink of extinction. Meanwhile, in part at the behest of Musk\u2019s so-called \u201cdepartment of government efficiency\u201d, hundreds of US Fish and Wildlife staff have been laid off, and hiring freezes implemented on hundreds more seasonal workers whom advocates say are critical to ensuring some species\u2019 survival.<\/p>\n
In the US House, Republicans recently held a hearing on the ESA and the Marine Mammal Protection Act, claiming the legislation needs to be revised to allow industry projects to be approved more quickly.<\/p>\n
Wildlife advocates are girding for a fight in which species\u2019 existence hangs in the balance.<\/p>\n
\u201cScientists warn that we\u2019re in an extinction crisis, and we ignore that at our own peril,\u201d said Noah Greenwald, the endangered species director at the Center for Biological Diversity. \u201cAs America\u2019s wildlife dwindles, Elon Musk is swinging his wrecking ball at the skilled and dedicated people fighting to save our plants and animals from extinction. It\u2019s beyond idiotic.\u201d<\/p>\n
Congress passed the ESA in 1973, and it has saved bald eagles, grizzly bears and American alligators from extinction, among other species. Some environmentalists say it\u2019s among the nation\u2019s strongest environmental laws because it\u2019s explicit, and sets clear deadlines for federal agencies to act to protect species. The law also requires most federal initiatives to ensure the action or project doesn\u2019t threaten protected species.<\/p>\n
Nearly 99% of species listed as endangered under the law have survived, Greenwald said, and the law rarely derails energy or development projects.<\/p>\n
Still, the ESA\u2019s robust provisions \u201cdrive industry bananas\u201d and the law has long been a GOP target, said Drew Caputo, an attorney with the Earthjustice non-profit who has litigated on issues involving endangered species.<\/p>\n
\u201cIndustry cannot stand that their ability to profit is sometimes limited by the need to protect wildlife that has been on earth for millions of years,\u201d Caputo said. GOP and industry attacks, including bills that attempted repeals and revisions in recent years, have \u201cfailed spectacularly\u201d, he added.<\/p>\n
But the \u201cGod squad\u201d could present the biggest threat so far.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt can behave as god and decide what species exist and which don\u2019t,\u201d Caputo said.<\/p>\n
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\u2019s benefits outweigh the protected species\u2019 wellbeing. If five of the seven votes are in favor of a project proceeding, it moves forward, which could drive species to extinction.<\/p>\n
The \u201cGod squad\u201d 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.<\/p>\n
However, Trump seems to be proceeding without regard to the law\u2019s protocols, and ordering action outside the squad\u2019s scope, advocates say. In one executive order, he directed the squad to meet quarterly instead of after the petitioning process had played out, as the law requires. When there are no projects to consider, the squad should \u201cidentify obstacles to domestic energy infrastructure\u201d related to the ESA, another order states.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe can\u2019t just say: \u2018I hereby undo the Endangered Species Act,\u2019\u201d Greenwald said. \u201cThere are really specific processes for how that works.\u201d<\/p>\n
The president may use the squad to divert water from northern to southern California at the expense of endangered salmon, Caputo said.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Doge\u2019s cuts to the federal workforce, and Trump funding freezes, are already directly affecting staffing and the solvency of projects to preserve red wolves in North Carolina, \u2018akikiki birds in Hawaii, and black-footed ferrets. Greenwald said staff at the fish and wildlife service have learned that the initial cuts that affected hundreds of jobs are just the beginning, and that Trump is planning to cut 40% of the staff.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat Doge is doing will result in species going extinct,\u201d Greenwald said.<\/p>\n
On Thursday, the GOP representatives on the US House Committee on Natural Resources attempted to chart a new course of attack in which they claimed that the US supreme court\u2019s June reversal of the Chevron doctrine that stripped power from regulators also required the ESA to be reformed and made clearer.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is no denying that, after half a century, both laws need improvement, and the committee intends to do just that,\u201d Harriet Hageman, the committee chair and Wyoming US representative, said. \u201cChanges to the statutes will significantly improve the regulatory process.\u201d<\/p>\n
But Caputo called the rightwing Chevron claim \u201clegal nonsense\u201d. He said the GOP is specifically targeting the ESA\u2019s deadlines for federal agencies to act to protect species, as well as a provision that only allows science and the species\u2019 survival to guide decisions. Republicans also want economic impact on industry to be factored in to the equation, Caputo said.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s a chance some reforms could get through with Democratic support. Congress last year passed two out of eight bills that would have weakened the law, but Joe Biden vetoed them.<\/p>\n
But the act remains popular among the nation\u2019s public, and that could pressure lawmakers, Caputo said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe industry agenda is unpopular, but the right still keeps trying,\u201d Caputo said. \u201cThe harsh reality is that extinction means forever. People understand that.\u201d<\/p>\n
This article<\/a> by Tom Perkins was first published by The Guardian on 11 March 2025. Lead Image: A bald eagle in Orlando, Florida, on 7 March 2025. Photograph: Mike Ehrmann\/Getty Images.<\/i><\/p>\n Wildlife continues to face threats from overexploitation in the form of poaching and illegal trade in animal products, as well as a rapidly changing climate.<\/p>\n Due to growing threats, 70% of all animal and plant species are at risk of extinction by 2050.<\/p>\n With your donation, our conservation partners<\/a> can continue to motivate millions of people worldwide to take action that protects and preserves wildlife at risk.<\/p>\nWhat you can do<\/h2>\n