Hegseth Invokes National Security in Seeking to Exempt Gulf Oil and Gas Activities from Endangered Species Act

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Trump Administration has invoked "national security concerns" to justify exempting all oil and gas exploration and drilling in the Gulf of Mexico from the Endangered Species Act (ESA), according to a legal filing .

The declaration, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, confirmed Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth "found it necessary" to waive ESA protections due to national security concerns, as the Trump administration pursues war in Iran. The news comes just one week after the so-called " God Squad " - a federal panel with power to override protections under the Endangered Species Act - announced it would convene a meeting on March 31 to consider the request. That meeting is only "open to the public" via livestream due to security concerns from committee members.

The Gulf is home to the critically endangered Rice's whale, which exists nowhere else on Earth. Its population is estimated to be fewer than 100 whales. The National Marine Fisheries Service found in 2025 that oil and gas activities in the Gulf are "likely to jeopardize the continued existence of the Rice's whale". Conservation groups including Sierra Club sued over the decision, saying it did not go far enough to protect this rare species from extinction.

On Wednesday, Sierra Club and partners submitted comments on the Trump administration's proposed rule to weaken offshore drilling safety regulations. Sierra Club has actively opposed the administration's rollbacks to the Well Control and Blowout Preventer Rule, one of several safety regulations put into place after the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill in 2010. The U.S. is a net exporter of oil and natural gas. This long-planned effort to expand drilling in the Gulf is not a response to concerns over domestic supply, but another action by the administration to drive up fossil fuel industry profits.

In response to the news, Sierra Club Executive Director Loren Blackford issued the following statement:

"The Trump Administration is invoking 'national security' to solve a crisis they themselves created. This dangerous abuse of power attempts to hand the oil and gas industry a blank check at the expense of one of the most critically endangered species on the planet. This sweeping effort will not solve the affordability crisis this administration has manufactured; it is just another example of how they consistently put polluter profits over people, wildlife, and the law. The Endangered Species Act exists to prevent irreversible loss, and it should not be cast aside."