On Tuesday, the Trump administration convened the \u201cGod Squad\u201d for the first time in more than three decades, seeking to grant a far larger exemption than the committee has ever considered. In a morning meeting that lasted around 15 minutes<\/a>, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth made the president\u2019s case. \u201cWe cannot allow our own rules to weaken our standing and strengthen those who wish to harm us,\u201d Hegseth said.\u00a0<\/p>\n The committee then voted unanimously<\/a> to waive all Endangered Species Act regulations on oil and gas extraction in the Gulf of Mexico. The administration has itself noted that oil and gas production in the Gulf \u201cis likely to jeopardize the continued existence of the Rice\u2019s whale.\u201d Its analysis concluded that the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010 killed 17 percent of the whale\u2019s population and that vessel strikes could kill multiple whales per year. The decision to override the Endangered Species Act could cause the extinction of the Rice\u2019s whale, a species that only lives in the northern Gulf of Mexico and which has only about 50 living members.<\/p>\n Read Next<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n Ocean speed limits protect endangered right whales. Trump wants to weaken them.<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s another example of this administration trying to figure out what the limits are on how far they can push the existing norms and authorities,\u201d said Sally Jewell, who served as Interior Secretary under the Obama administration.<\/p>\n In granting the exemption, the committee cited a never-before-used section of the Endangered Species Act<\/a>. The statute says in direct language that \u201cthe Committee shall grant an exemption for any agency action if the Secretary of Defense finds that such exemption is necessary for reasons of national security<\/a>.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n As each member of the committee voiced their support for the waiver, they cited the national security implications of the U.S.-Israeli war in Iran<\/a>, which Trump joined last month. The war has caused the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, blocked millions of barrels of oil from moving around the world, and raised fuel prices<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cRecent hostile actions by the Iranian terror regime highlights [sic] yet again why robust domestic oil production is a national security imperative,\u201d said Hegseth during the committee meeting. \u201cProduction in the Gulf of America provides a vital buffer, insulating our economy and military from foreign instability and reducing the strategic leverage of our adversaries.\u201d<\/p>\n The U.S. produces more oil than any other country, and the Gulf of Mexico only accounts for about 15 percent of the nation\u2019s oil production, a far lower share than before the fracking boom<\/a> and only around 2 percent of natural gas production. \u201cGetting around environmental laws is not going to accelerate production and won\u2019t solve any current challenge that our nation faces,\u201d said Jewell. What\u2019s more, the national security risk the administration cited would not exist were it not for Trump\u2019s own decision to enter a conflict in Iran. \u201cI just don\u2019t view this as something that\u2019s going to address any near-term national security crisis,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n What, then, does the Trump administration consider to be such a dire threat to national security? The supposed threat, in this case, appears to be litigation from environmental groups. \u201cI feel like it\u2019s a solution in search of a problem, but in the most harmful way,\u201d Steve Mashuda, a lead attorney for oceans at the environmental organization Earthjustice, told Grist.<\/p>\n Last year, the administration concluded<\/a> that oil producers in the Gulf could prevent harm to the whales by using new whale detection technology. Environmental groups sued<\/a> over that conclusion, arguing that the technology is speculative and on its own would be insufficient. Limits on ship speed, the plaintiffs argued, would be the most effective way to prevent whale deaths.<\/p>\n The state of Louisiana, Chevron, and the American Petroleum Institute also sued the federal government<\/a> over the proposed requirement to use whale-detection technology \u2014 calling it too stringent and arguing the Rice\u2019s whale is not as threatened as the federal government thinks. According<\/a> to<\/a> federal<\/a> disclosures<\/a>, BP, which is pursuing a new offshore oil and gas platform called Kaskida<\/a> in the Gulf of Mexico, lobbied the White House and three federal agencies on the issue at least once a quarter last year. (BP didn\u2019t respond to a request for comment. The American Petroleum Institute said in a statement to Grist that it did not advocate for the God Squad meeting.) A federal court overruled<\/a> the administration\u2019s proposed requirement to use whale detection technology in January, and at the moment there is no active Endangered Species Act restriction on vessel speed in the offshore oil industry.<\/p>\n![\"North](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/CATALO2.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/ESC.jpg\")
The Endangered Species Committee, or \u201cGod Squad\u201d, meets in Washington, D.C., to discuss the Gulf of Mexico. Federal officials present included the Secretaries of Agriculture, Defense, and the Interior, and the head of the Environmental Protection Agency.
\n Department of the Interior<\/p>\n