A committee of six senior Trump administration officials met 31 March to vote on whether the oil and gas industry could receive an exemption from requirements of the Endangered Species Act to drill for oil in the Gulf of Mexico. The committee voted unanimously to secure the exemption.
US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth requested the meeting 2 weeks ago, citing the need for an increased US-based energy supply due to the Iran War, which he deemed a “national security” matter.
"To be secure as a nation we need a steady, affordable supply of our own energy … This is not just about gas prices; it's about our ability to power our military and protect our nation,” Hegseth said during the committee meeting.
The meeting was the first time the committee had met in 3 decades and the first time it convened under matters of “national security.”
The committee comprised Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, White House Council of Economic Advisers Acting Chair Pierre Yared, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Administrator Neil Jacobs, and Secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll.
The Endangered Species Act was enacted in 1973. It requires federal agencies to act in consultation with the with the US Fish and Wildlife Service and/or the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries Service. This consultation ensures that actions they authorize, fund, or carry out are not likely to jeopardize the continued existence of any listed species or result in the destruction or adverse modification of designated critical habitat of such species.
The Gulf is home to several species of whales, sea turtles and Gulf sturgeon, all of which have been identified by NOAA Fisheries as susceptible to potential danger from ship strikes, oil spills, noise pollution, or other incidents.
One particular whale species, known as Rice’s whale, resides exclusively year-round in the Gulf. These whales were first recognized as a unique species in 2021. Scientists have reported there are around 50 Rice’s whales in existence. Following the 2010 Deepwater Horizon blowout, its population declined by 22%.
"Once an exemption is issued, it is sweeping. It applies not only to the one species that had a jeopardy finding, Rice's whale—it applies to every other listed species in the Gulf in relation to oil and gas operations, which will go on for decades," Brian Segee, a senior attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity, told NPR.
Hegseth and other Trump officials argued that lawsuits and environmental protections for endangered species create uncertainty for oil and gas companies, making it more difficult to plan and carry out drilling operations and, in turn, posing a risk to US national security.
“These legal battles waste critical government resources and make it impossible for energy companies to plan and invest in new projects,” Hegseth said. “When development in the Gulf is chilled, we are prevented from producing the energy we need as a country.”
The Gulf of Mexico produces about 2 million BOPD and is the US’s primary offshore source for oil and natural gas, according to the US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.