Ranking Member Huffman Blasts Trump Cabinet’s Illegal Gutting of Endangered Species Protections to Benefit Big Oil Donors

Washington, D.C. — Today, House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) released the following statement after the Trump administration's Endangered Species Committee voted to exempt all oil and gas drilling in the Gulf of Mexico from Endangered Species Act protections:

"The grotesque pay-to-play pageantry that unfolded today was, thankfully, so clearly illegal that it will not stand. But that should not temper the disgust and outrage of every American who cares about the environment and the integrity of our government. This sham “God squad” proceeding lacked any semblance of serious deliberation. It was merely Trump's cabinet of MAGA puppets doing as they were told and giving a massive gift to Big Oil, just as Trump promised he would do when he asked them at Mar-a-Lago to raise $1 billion for his campaign.

"Wiping out all endangered species protections in the Gulf of Mexico so that oil companies can drill without limits and kill without consequence is beyond extreme; no president in our history has ever done anything like this. And doing it under a perfunctory claim of “national security” insults the intelligence of the American people.

"Trump started a reckless war with Iran that sent gas prices through the roof, and now he's citing the mess he created as grounds for an exemption that has never been invoked in the history of the Endangered Species Act. The people who will pay for this are Gulf Coast families and communities, where people’s livelihoods depend on healthy fisheries and clean water. For the oil executives who already posted record profits last quarter, this is just another dark chapter in their greed and overreach.

"The corrupt bargain between the Trump administration and the fossil fuel industry will not stand. My Democratic colleagues and I will fight this in court, in Congress, and we’ll have the support of every community in America that values public integrity and a healthy environment.”

###

Press Contact

Mary Hurrell
(202) 225-5187