A rarely used federal panel with the authority to override endangered species protections has approved a request from the Trump administration to expand oil and gas drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, as the White House moves to accelerate domestic production in line with its “drill, baby, drill” agenda, with officials pointing to geopolitical tensions and energy supply risks. Scientists and environmental groups say the decision could push already vulnerable marine species closer to extinction, including the Rice’s whale, a species with fewer than 50 individuals remaining.
A rarely used power invoked
The body at the centre of the decision is the Endangered Species Committee, more commonly referred to as the “God Squad” because of its ability to permit projects that could determine the survival of protected species. Created in 1978 under the Endangered Species Act, a 1973 law designed to prevent the extinction of at-risk plants and animals, the committee can grant exemptions when it determines that a project serves national or regional interests and that there are no reasonable alternatives. Its decisions effectively allow activities that would otherwise be prohibited because they could harm or kill endangered species.
FILE – A supply vessel boat sits near an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico, off the coast of Louisiana. April 10, 2011. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert, File)
The committee is composed of senior federal officials, chaired by the Secretary of the Interior, with representation from agencies including agriculture, the army and the Environmental Protection Agency, as well as a vote shared by affected states. A minimum of five votes is required to approve an exemption. Until this week, it had done so only twice in more than five decades. On Tuesday, it voted unanimously to approve an exemption for expanded oil and gas activity in the Gulf of Mexico, the third such decision in its history.
National security framing and geopolitical pressure
The request was submitted by Pete Hegseth, who argued that domestic oil production had become a matter of national security in the context of escalating tensions with Iran. In remarks to the committee, Hegseth pointed to disruptions in global oil supply following military escalation in late February, when US and Israeli strikes on Iran were followed by Tehran effectively closing the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most critical energy corridors.The closure of the strait has already disrupted global supply chains, constraining oil shipments and pushing prices higher across markets. In the United States, average gasoline prices have climbed above $4 per gallon for the first time in nearly four years, highlighting the immediate impact on consumers.The exemption request itself predated the escalation with Iran, but Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth framed the situation as evidence of the risks of relying on external supply.This comes as US President Donald Trump downplayed the stakes, insisting the country does not rely on the Strait of Hormuz. “We don’t need it. We haven’t needed it, and we don’t need it,” he said, while also claiming, “We produce more oil & gas than Saudi Arabia & Russia combined, & that number will soon be substantially higher.” At the same time, Hegseth told the committee that ongoing litigation by environmental groups had slowed energy development, and that the exemption would allow what he described as the “integration of oil and gas production with responsible endangered species protection.”
A fragile ecosystem with a recent history of catastrophe
The Gulf of Mexico, where the expanded drilling is expected to take place, is one of the most biologically diverse marine regions in the United States. It is home to at least 20 threatened and endangered species, including sea turtles, corals, manta rays, manatees and multiple species of whales. It is also a region with a well-documented history of environmental damage linked to oil extraction. On April 20, 2010, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill began when an offshore drilling rig exploded roughly 52 miles off the Louisiana coast. Over the following 87 days, an estimated 134 million gallons of oil were released into the Gulf, making it the largest marine oil spill in US history.
FILE – The Deepwater Horizon oil rig burns, April 21, 2010, in the Gulf of Mexico more than 50 miles southeast of Venice, La. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert, File)
The effects were immediate and widespread. Tens of thousands of marine animals died, including dolphins, whales, sea turtles and seabirds. Every species of cetacean in the Gulf, a group that includes whales, dolphins and porpoises, was exposed to oil. While the scale of the damage was visible at the time, scientists have continued to assess its longer-term consequences, particularly for species that were not yet fully understood.More recently, the region has seen fresh incidents that underscore the persistence of such risks. In late March, a large oil spill spread more than 373 miles (600 kilometres) across waters off Mexico’s Gulf coast, seeping into seven nature reserves and disrupting coastal ecosystems. According to reporting by the Associated Press, the spill originated from a vessel, yet to be identified, anchored near the port city of Coatzacoalcos in Veracruz state, along with two “natural seepages.”
Bags filled with oil-stained sargassum collected by Mexican Navy sailors sit at a port in Veracruz, Mexico, Thursday, March 26, 2026, after Mexican authorities said an oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico originated from an unidentified vessel and two natural oil seeps. (AP Photo/Felix Marquez)
Authorities said around 430 tonnes of hydrocarbons had been collected along the coasts of three Mexican states and ruled out severe environmental damage, but local reports and images showed dead turtles, eels and fish washing up on beaches and near shorelines, while fishing activity in Veracruz, typically at its peak ahead of Holy Week, was sharply affected.
The whale discovered too late
Among those species is the Rice’s whale, a large baleen whale that lives exclusively in the Gulf of Mexico. Although whales of this type had been observed for decades, they were only formally recognised as a distinct species in 2021, following genetic and anatomical analysis of a stranded individual found in the Florida Everglades in 2019. The species was named after marine biologist Dale W. Rice, who in 1965 was the first to write about the presence of what was thought to be Bryde’s whales in the Gulf. Rice’s whales can grow to around 40 feet in length and are believed to inhabit a narrow band of waters in the northeastern Gulf, typically at depths between 100 and 400 metres. Their behaviour makes them particularly vulnerable: they dive to the seabed during the day to feed on specific prey such as silver-rag driftfish, and return closer to the surface at night, where they are more exposed to vessel strikes.
In this 2024 image provided by NOAA Fisheries, a Rice’s whale is visible from onboard the NOAA Twin Otter aircraft off the coast of Texas in the Gulf of Mexico. (Paul Nagelkirk/NOAA Fisheries (Permit #21938) via AP)
Their population is critically small. Scientists estimate that fewer than 100 individuals remain, with some assessments suggesting the number could be closer to 50. The impact of the Deepwater Horizon spill on this species has only become clear in recent years. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, exposure to oil contributed to a decline of more than 20% in the population. Jeremy Kiszka, a biological sciences professor at Florida International University, told PBS that the species is “quite living on the edge,” noting that its restricted habitat, specialised diet and exposure to human activity leave little margin for additional stress.
How expanded drilling could affect marine life
Scientists and conservation groups have outlined several ways in which increased oil and gas activity could affect the Gulf’s ecosystem. Direct risks include the possibility of new spills, which could replicate or compound past damage. Even without a major incident, routine operations introduce noise, vessel traffic and pollution into the environment. Noise from drilling and exploration can interfere with whales’ ability to communicate and forage. Increased ship traffic raises the likelihood of collisions, particularly for species like Rice’s whales that spend time near the surface at night. Changes associated with fossil fuel extraction also contribute to broader environmental shifts. As ocean temperatures and conditions change, the distribution of prey species can shift, affecting animals that rely on specific food sources.
Dolphins swimming in oiled waters in the Gulf (Source: NOAA)
Letise LaFeir, chief of conservation and stewardship at the New England Aquarium, told PBS that many of the broader impacts of climate change are already “baked in,” but added that the expansion of drilling is “just compounding the immediate risks locally and the longer-term risks.” The effects are not limited to whales. Michael Jasny, who directs the marine mammal protection project at the Natural Resources Defense Council, told PBS that the consequences extend across species, listing “sea turtles, manatees, whooping cranes, various seabirds, Rice’s whales, sperm whales” and “endangered corals,” and adding that “it is every endangered or threatened species in the Gulf of Mexico.”
Protections set aside
Prior to the exemption, federal agencies had assessed the impact of oil and gas activity on the Gulf’s ecosystem. In 2025, the National Marine Fisheries Service concluded that such activity would likely lead to the extinction of the Rice’s whale and recommended measures to reduce harm, including limits on vessel speeds. Those measures will no longer apply under the exemption. The decision has drawn strong criticism from environmental organisations, some of which attempted to block the vote through legal action before it was held.
Conservation groups rally to oppose the Trump administration’s convening of the Endangered Species Committee, at the Interior Department in Washington, Tuesday, March 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)
Brett Hartl, government affairs director at the Center for Biological Diversity, told the BBC that “Americans overwhelmingly oppose sacrificing endangered whales and other marine life so the fossil fuel industry can get richer.”There are also concerns about the precedent set by the decision. Michael Jasny warned that if exemptions can be granted in this context, it raises the possibility of similar decisions elsewhere.Jasny said the Trump administration could “turn this … into a thing that could be invoked at any time, almost for any purpose,” questioning, “If it can be done for drilling in the Gulf, why not California? Why not Alaska?”
Industry response and next steps
Industry representatives have defended the decision, arguing that offshore energy development can be carried out alongside environmental safeguards. Andrea Wood, a spokesperson for the American Petroleum Institute, told the BBC that the industry has “a long track record of protecting wildlife while developing offshore energy responsibly,” adding that there needs to be a balance between “science-based protections” and “meeting growing energy demand.” Environmental groups have said they intend to pursue further legal action in response to the exemption.
