DOJ claims national security makes environmental laws vanish, paving the way for a shocking Gulf drilling expansion that experts say is pure chaos

The Department of Justice just declared that national security provisions mean environmental laws don’t apply to expanded oil and gas drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, citing President Trump’s ongoing war on Iran as the reason, as reported by Associated Press. This sweeping claim comes just as the administration is pushing for a rare meeting of the Endangered Species Committee, often dubbed the “God Squad,” to greenlight these drilling activities.

Environmental groups are understandably alarmed, calling the move a dangerous precedent that could open the floodgates for future fossil fuel projects without proper oversight. President Trump, upon returning to the White House in January, called for this committee to meet quarterly to clear the way for domestic energy development. The upcoming meeting, scheduled for Tuesday, would be its first.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, in his request to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum for the committee meeting, stated he found it “necessary for reasons of national security to exempt from the (Endangered Species Act’s) requirements all Gulf of America oil and gas exploration and development activities” overseen by federal agencies.

The Endangered Species Act makes it illegal to harm or kill protected species unless there’s no alternative that provides the same economic benefits or if it’s in the nation’s best interest

The “God Squad” itself was established back in 1978 to offer exemptions, but it’s only convened three times in its 53-year history and only issued two exemptions. One allowed a dam in Wyoming in 1979, affecting the whooping crane, and another in 1992 for logging in Oregon, impacting northern spotted owl habitats, though that request was later withdrawn.

Environmentalists are pushing back hard, arguing the government hasn’t followed proper procedure. They’re trying to block the meeting before it even happens. The Center for Biological Diversity filed a lawsuit last week, claiming several requirements for holding such a meeting haven’t been met. These include applying within 90 days of a biological opinion that declares a specific species’ existence is jeopardized.

The organization also insists the hearing must be public and presided over by an administrative law judge. District of Columbia District Judge Rudolph Contreras, an Obama appointee who has ruled against the Trump administration before, will hear the center’s motion on Friday.

However, the Department of Justice’s recent court filing claims that because Defense Secretary Hegseth is invoking national security, none of those usual legal requirements apply. The DOJ also argues that the Center for Biological Diversity can’t sue before the committee takes any future actions. They’re trying to meet the public hearing requirement by stating that relevant records will be made public on Tuesday and the meeting itself will be livestreamed.

The exact plans for the Gulf aren’t entirely clear, but experts say the administration needs to specify the military need that would endanger a particular species to make a solid case for a national security exemption. Environmental groups are really worried that a blanket exemption could allow the administration to proceed with oil and gas projects without considering several species, including the Rice’s whale, of which only about 50 remain in the Gulf.

“There’s no imaginable justification to sacrifice them,” said Steve Mashuda, Earthjustice managing attorney for oceans. “It’s beyond reckless even to consider greenlighting the extinction of sea turtles, fish, whales, rays, and corals to further pad the oil industry’s pockets at the public’s expense.”