Trump convenes ‘God Squad’ to seek endangered species exemptions

President Trump has convened the federal Endangered Species Committee, known as the God Squad, to consider exemptions in the Gulf of Mexico. The panel would be asked to override Endangered Species Act protections to clear the way for expanded offshore oil and gas work, citing national security. If granted, the exemptions would lift legal barriers that protect sea turtles, a whale population down to roughly 51 individuals, and other imperiled Gulf species. The move matters because it would roll back decades of wildlife protections and enable major new industrial activity in sensitive marine habitats.