National Resources Defense Council vs. Trump's God Squad

[Tanuki]

https://www.nrdc.org/bio/michael-jasny/god-squad-hell-trump-convenes-committee-explore-extinction

"The Trump administration announced that on March 31, it will convene the Endangered Species Committee, or so-called God Squad, a rarely used panel that has the power to condemn an endangered species to extinction. The meeting appears to be an attempt to allow oil and gas activities in the Gulf of Mexico to move forward without regard to their impacts on the area’s critically imperiled species. Exempting these activities would put federally listed species, including the Rice’s whale and five species of sea turtles, at risk of irreversible harm—and potentially extinction.

This is a signal that the administration believes the future of cherished wildlife is negotiable when some of the wealthiest companies on earth ask for a favor. And while the scope of any planned exemption is unclear, it must comply with the limits and procedures set out likely has no basis in the law.
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Who’s who on the God Squad
The committee tasked with deciding the future of our wildlife is led by the secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior and five other administration officials, each of whom will have a vote. This particular group has more experience with industry and oil and gas than they do with the environment. Here’s who’ll be a part of this meeting:

Secretary of the Interior: Doug Burgum will be leading this meeting, despite having no wildlife expertise—and a track record in this administration of pandering to the oil and gas industry. Having a billionaire businessman lead a committee tasked with the future of endangered species does not bode well for anyone who cares about our natural heritage.
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Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency: Under Lee Zeldin, the EPA has made its sharpest turn in decades away from its core environmental mission. Instead of doing its job to keep people safe, the agency is systematically dismantling protections for the environment and human health."..... (more)