For Immediate Release
February 26, 2025
Contact: Josh Osher, Western Watersheds Project, (406) 830-3099
House Republicans Use Sham Hearing to Undermine Endangered Species Protections and Federal Workforce
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the House Natural Resources Committee held a hearing designed to undermine two of the country’s most effective wildlife protection laws—the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA). Using the recent Supreme Court decision in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo as political cover, committee members misrepresented these bedrock environmental laws as obstacles to industry, ignoring the laws’ overwhelming success in preventing extinctions and recovering species.
This attack is part of a broader effort to dismantle federal wildlife protections and gut the agencies responsible for enforcing these laws. Instead of addressing the real issue—years of politically motivated budget cuts and mass firings of federal employees—Republicans on the committee falsely claimed that the ESA and MMPA are to blame for inefficiencies in permitting and species recovery. In reality, the Trump administration’s purge of agency staff during his first and second administrations left critical federal agencies understaffed and struggling to meet their mandates, slowing conservation efforts and permitting processes alike.
In response, Western Watersheds Project’s Public Policy Director Josh Osher issued the following statement.
“Today, House Republicans launched a direct attack on the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) all while doing cartwheels to avoid and address the implications of Elon Musk and DOGE’s evisceration of the federal workforce particularly employees responsible for implementing these critical laws. The lone minority witness made it abundantly clear: these cuts will not streamline government but will instead increase inefficiencies, further delay permitting and consultation, drive up costs for developments, and increase the likelihood that at-risk species will be pushed toward extinction.”
“The ESA and the MMPA are among the most effective and important environmental laws ever created. They have an extraordinary track record of preventing extinctions and remain likely to recover the overwhelming majority of listed species within the expected timelines. Instead of undermining these laws, Congress should focus on fully funding the agencies responsible for their enforcement and reversing the Trump Administration’s attacks on the federal workforce. While we don’t agree with every agency decision, we unequivocally support their mission and the resources necessary to carry it out.”
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