Booker, Schiff, Whitehouse Fight Proposed Defanging of Endangered Species Act, Demand Answers on Potential Gutting of Landmark Environmental Law

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ), Adam Schiff (D-CA), and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) raised the alarm on the Trump administration's proposed rule that would defang the Endangered Species Act (ESA) by changing a key definition in the regulation.

The Trump administration is proposing to change the scope of "harm" covered by the landmark legislation, circumventing congressional intent and reversing 30 years of Supreme Court precedent.

"By amputating this critical part of Endangered Species Act rules that has been on the books for more than 40 years, the administration would permit the widespread degradation and elimination of habitat for species that Congress enacted the Endangered Species Act to protect," the Senators wrote.

In their letter to the U.S. Departments of the Interior and Commerce, the Senators also demand answers about the potential of outside influence pushing a deregulatory agenda that could devastate environmental protection efforts across the United States. Their letter also expresses concern about the ability for these departments to enforce the ESA in any capacity amid ongoing efforts to gut federal environmental agencies.

"Combined with efforts by the administration and DOGE to expel expert personnel from federal agencies like FWS and the National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration - which houses NMFS - and starve these agencies of resources, the proposed rule raises the question of how FWS and NMFS will be able to enforce the Endangered Species Act at all," the Senators wrote.

The full letter can be found here.