Defenders of Wildlife Challenges Unprecedented “God Squad” Exemption Allowing Unchecked Gulf Oil Drilling

Defenders of Wildlife today announced it is taking legal action to overturn an unprecedented and unlawful decision by the Endangered Species Committee, known as the “God Squad,” to exempt federal authorizations of oil and gas activities in the Gulf of Mexico through a blanket exemption from the Endangered Species Act’s protections. Defenders has also challenged Defense Secretary Hegseth’s “National Security Findings” that led to the God Squad’s vote.

“The brazen action taken by the God Squad to exempt federally authorized oil and gas activities in the Gulf from the Endangered Species Act is as unprecedented as it is illegal,” said Andrew Bowman, president and CEO of Defenders of Wildlife. “We are in this fight not only to protect the threatened and endangered species now placed in grave peril, but also to protect the Endangered Species Act itself, which was enacted to conserve our shared American heritage – a heritage this administration seems hellbent on destroying.”

The God Squad’s March 31 decision gives two federal agencies in the Interior Department that authorize oil and gas-related activities in federal waters in the Gulf of Mexico a sweeping pass from one of the nation’s cornerstone wildlife protection laws. This marks the first time in the ESA’s history that such a broad exemption has been granted for an entire federal program. The Trump administration justified the move relying on baseless claims that potential future lawsuits challenging ESA violations may halt Gulf oil production and risk “national security.” Defenders of Wildlife has filed its petition for review of the challenged decisions in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.

The exemption strips ESA protections from dozens of imperiled species in the Gulf, including the critically endangered Rice’s whale, five sea turtle species, Florida manatees and migratory shorebirds — despite clear scientific findings that oil and gas activities are harmful to these species and must be subject to the ESA’s consultation process to avoid the risk of extinction and to ensure sufficient mitigation.  

Defenders of Wildlife also warns that the unlawful decision sets a dangerous precedent far beyond the Gulf. By claiming that environmental lawsuits seeking to ensure compliance with the ESA have a “chilling effect” on industry and cutting off future consultation obligations, the Trump administration is attempting to foreclose the public’s right to challenge any future unlawful consultations in federal court.  

“The First Amendment guarantees our right to petition the government, including the right to file a lawsuit. Congress explicitly included a citizen-suit provision in the ESA to ensure we can hold agencies accountable for ESA violations in federal court,” said Jane Davenport, senior attorney for Defenders of Wildlife. “The Trump administration’s sidelining both Congress and the federal judiciary tramples our First Amendment rights and blatantly disrespects our constitutional system of checks and balances.”  

###