Take Action: Tell Trump’s “God Squad” not to sign off on extinction!

Defenders has just learned Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth is invoking a false “national security” rationale to eviscerate Endangered Species Act protections for wildlife in the Gulf of Mexico. Sec. Hegseth requested that Interior Secretary Doug Burgum hold a snap meeting of the Endangered Species Committee, aka the “GOD SQUAD,” on March 31.

If strict statutory procedures are followed, the “God Squad” has the power to grant an exemption from the Endangered Species Act’s requirements for a federal action. It has the life-or-death power to allow a vulnerable species to face extinction.

Not only has the Interior Department failed to follow any of the safeguards established by the Endangered Species Act before the God Squad can vote, but Secretary Hegseth is callously willing to sacrifice imperiled species knowing full well that those species and the Endangered Species Act are not an impediment to accessing oil and gas from the Gulf. We need to speak out now against unelected political appointees sentencing wildlife to death. It’s vital that Secretary Burgum hears from all of us as soon as possible.

Speak out against extinction: Send a message urging Secretary Burgum and the God Squad not to illegally abandon necessary protections for imperiled animals!

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Defenders of Wildlife

Dear Secretary Burgum,

As an American deeply concerned about the future of our nation’s ecosystems and natural resources, I urge you and other members of the Endangered Species Committee not to take an illegal vote to exempt imperiled species from Endangered Species Act protections in the Gulf of Mexico at your meeting on March 31.

The Gulf of Mexico is already severely degraded by decades of fossil fuel extraction, including the catastrophic 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Vulnerable species of sea turtles, corals, sharks, fish, birds, and whales have suffered the consequences.

Exempting the administration’s latest push to vastly expand oil and gas extraction in the Gulf from ESA safeguards would have disastrous impacts for the region’s wildlife. These projects pose a particular threat to endangered Rice’s whales, with only around 51 surviving animals. These are America’s only endemic whale, and they suffered heavy losses and habitat contamination in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Without ESA protections, they face extinction.

Bypassing the Endangered Species Act to allow oil and gas development to push the Rice’s whale or any other species over the edge would be a short-sighted and reckless decision.

I also cannot condone setting a precedent for the Secretary of Defense to invoke “national security" to unlawfully bypass protections for myriad other imperiled species put at risk by the push for expanded fossil fuel extraction around the country, from California’s coast to the fragile Arctic.

The Endangered Species Committee has an incredible responsibility in this moment to comply with the law and safeguard the public interest. I urge you to consider the health of the Gulf, its ecosystems and surrounding communities in the decades to come and refrain from any unlawful vote to weaken Endangered Species Act protections.

Thank you,
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