Episode Details

Today a panel of Trump’s cabinet officials known as the “God Squad” voted to exempt all oil and gas drilling in the Gulf of Mexico from the Endangered Species Act. It was the first time in history the committee granted an exemption on national security grounds. The meeting was called by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, whose claimed national security threat was environmental lawsuits trying to make oil companies slow their boats down so they don’t run over the last 51 Rice’s whales on Earth. The species was only discovered five years ago. BP’s Deepwater Horizon already killed up to 22% of the population. NOAA determined the industry could operate safely if they just slowed down and watched for whales. The industry refused. So instead of enforcing the speed limit, the Trump administration eliminated it — along with protections for sea turtles, sperm whales, manatees, and every other endangered species in the Gulf. Chevron, ExxonMobil, and Occidental Petroleum spent over $8 million lobbying for this. The meeting was closed to the public. The Center for Biological Diversity is suing.