‘God squad’ waives endangered species law to allow US drilling in Gulf of Mexico

A Rice's whale, of which only around 51 remain, swims off the coast of Texas in the Gulf of Mexico in 2024. Photograph: Paul Nagelkirk/NOAA via AP

A US government panel on Tuesday exempted oil and gas drilling in the Gulf of Mexico from the Endangered Species Act (ESA), a move which critics say could doom a rare whale species and harm other marine life.

The Endangered Species Committee – which had not convened in more than three decades – voted to approve the request for the ESA exemption at the request of the defense secretary, Pete Hegseth.