A judge ruled Friday that the Trump administration can convene a meeting next week to seek an exemption from the Endangered Species Act on the basis of national security for expanded oil and gas drilling in the Gulf of Mexico.
District of Columbia District Judge Rudolph Contreras rejected the Center for Biological Diversity’s motion to postpone the Interior Department’s upcoming meeting of the Endangered Species Committee.
The committee is set to meet Tuesday to seek an exemption from endangered species laws — which make it illegal to harm or kill species on a protected list, without a viable alternative — for national security purposes as invoked by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
According to a Department of Justice filing, Hegseth called for an exemption for
