A committee of senior officials in President Donald Trump's administration voted on Tuesday to exempt the Gulf of Mexico oil and gas industry from a federal law…
A committee of senior officials in President Donald Trump's administration voted on Tuesday to exempt the Gulf of Mexico oil and gas industry from a federal law meant to protect endangered species including whales, birds and sea turtles.
The decision, the first of its kind in more than three decades, is the latest government effort to unwind environmental regulations that Trump says hold back domestic energy production.
The meeting of the Endangered Species Committee, nicknamed the "God Squad" because of its power to grant exemptions to the Nixon-era Endangered Species Act, was attended by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who requested the exemption because litigation was threatening Gulf oil and gas production.
"We cannot allow our own rules to weaken our standing and strengthen those who wish to harm us," Hegseth said during the livestreamed meeting. "So for these reasons, exemption from the Endangered Species Act in the Gulf is not just a good idea, it is a critical matter of national security."
The panel's six senior members, who include the heads of the Interior Department, Agriculture Department, Environmental Protection Agency and others, voted unanimously in favor.
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, the committee's chairman, invoked the global oil disruption from the war
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