Trump admin sued over decision to shield Gulf oil operations from environmental rules

WASHINGTON - Gulf and environmental groups sued the Trump Administration today over its decision to strip Endangered Species Act protection from imperiled species threatened by oil-and-gas offshore drilling activities in the Gulf of Mexico. The unprecedented blanket-exemption would leave numerous Gulf species and ecosystems unprotected and vulnerable to extinction, including the critically endangered Rice’s whale, sea turtles, fish, rays, corals, and birds.

• Read the complaint: https://earthjustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/1_