Oil, gas drilling in the Gulf exempted from Endangered Species Act

Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google.

The Trump administration on Tuesday exempted oil and gas drilling in the Gulf of Mexico from the Endangered Species Act after ...

Skip to main Home News Finance Sports More Mail Search the web Advertisement Advertisement Return to Homepage Top Stories: Kimberly Guilfoyle resigns Feds search Ilhan Omar's home Social Security's 2027 COLA Who'll win the House?

South Carolina Senate debate Judge halts Trump ads Russia strikes power plant DHS defends livestream Midterm elections 2026 Follow Oil, gas drilling in the Gulf exempted from Endangered Species Act CBSNews Tue, March 31, 2026 at 8:48 PM UTC 6 min read Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google.

The Trump administration on Tuesday exempted oil and gas drilling in the Gulf of Mexico from the Endangered Species Act after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said environmentalists' lawsuits threatened to hobble domestic energy supplies as the U.S.

Critics said the move by the government's Endangered Species Committee could doom a rare whale species and harm other marine life.

Nicknamed the "God Squad" by groups who say it can decide a species' fate, the committee comprises several Trump administration officials and is chaired by Interior Secretary Doug Burgum .

It met Tuesday for the first time in more than three decades amid global oil shocks and soaring energy prices brought on by the Iran war.

pumps more oil than any other nation, but that hasn't insulated it from spiking prices: The national average for a gallon of gasoline topped $4 Tuesday for the first time since 2022.

Skip to main Home News Finance Sports More Mail Search the web Advertisement Advertisement Return to Homepage Top Stories: Bank of America penalized Kimberly Guilfoyle resigns 2026 midterm initiatives Feds search Ilhan Omar's home Social Security's 2027 COLA Who'll win the House?

South Carolina Senate debate Judge halts Trump ads Russia strikes power plant Follow Oil, gas drilling in the Gulf exempted from Endangered Species Act CBSNews Tue, March 31, 2026 at 8:48 PM UTC 6 min read Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google.

The Trump administration on Tuesday exempted oil and gas drilling in the Gulf of Mexico from the Endangered Species Act after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said environmentalists' lawsuits threatened to hobble domestic energy supplies as the U.S.

Critics said the move by the government's Endangered Species Committee could doom a rare whale species and harm other marine life.

Nicknamed the "God Squad" by groups who say it can decide a species' fate, the committee comprises several Trump administration officials and is chaired by Interior Secretary Doug Burgum .

It met Tuesday for the first time in more than three decades amid global oil shocks and soaring energy prices brought on by the Iran war.

pumps more oil than any other nation, but that hasn't insulated it from spiking prices: The national average for a gallon of gasoline topped $4 Tuesday for the first time since 2022.

"Disruptions to Gulf oil production doesn't hurt just us, it benefits our adversaries," Hegseth told the committee.

"We cannot allow our own rules to weaken our standing and strengthen those who wish to harm us.

When development in the Gulf is chilled, we are prevented from producing the energy we need as a country and as a department." Environmental groups sought unsuccessfully to block Tuesday's meeting and pledged to challenge the exemption.

They say the exemption would speed the extinction of the rare Rice's whale , which is found exclusively in the Gulf of Mexico.

Government biologists say only about 50 of the animals remain.