Major revisions to the Endangered Species Act (ESA), a hallmark law of American conservation, were set to go before Congress for a vote this week. The bill would have changed the listing process for imperiled species and weakened several other aspects of the law. After major outcry from lawmakers and conservation nonprofits, House Speaker Mike Johnson unexpectedly pulled the bill from the floor.
The Bill
The ESA, passed in 1973, helps protect endangered or threatened species. Essentially, if a fish, wildlife, or plant is listed, its habitat is protected, and government agencies have to come up with recovery plans to help restore its population.
H.R. 1897, or the ESA Amendments Act of 2025, came from Rep. Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.). The bill would have altered the ESA in several key ways, including:
- When a species is delisted, that decision is subject to judicial review, meaning organizations can sue over the issue. This law would remove judicial review.
- It would allow states to take on management of listed species.
- Normally, when a petition for a species to be listed is raised, the Secretary of the Interior has 90 days to issue a decision. Under the new law, the secretary would have until the last day of the fiscal year of when the petition was submitted.
- It would require an economic impact analysis any time before a piece of land is designated a critical habitat area.
- It expands the use of the so-called “God Squad,” a six-member committee that is supposed to consider exemptions to the ESA only in emergency or extremely complex situations.
The Debate
Those in support of the bill viewed it as a necessary reform to a complex system. “The Endangered Species Act has consistently failed to achieve its intended goals and has been warped by decades of radical environmental litigation into a weapon instead of a tool. With the reforms we are introducing today, we can look forward to a future where the ESA works to support the continued abundance of America’s rich and diverse wildlife,” Westerman said when it was introduced.
The House Committee on Natural Resources, which Westerman chairs, supported the bill. “The legislation also provides incentives for the recovery of listed species, promotes accountability for agency actions, and creates a backstop against frivolous litigation,” it said in a press release.
Environmental groups were quick to slam the proposed legislation. Many, including the National Resources Defense Council, worried about the expansion of the God Squad’s exemption power, in light of the committee’s recent decision to exempt the entirety of the Gulf of Mexico oil and gas program from the ESA.
“It [H.R. 1897] is a rewrite designed to gut core protections for endangered species — and potentially make what happened in the Gulf the new normal,” the nonprofit said in a press release.
“For 50 years, the ESA has been a critically important tool in the conservation and restoration of the over 600 threatened and endangered species that depend on habitats in national parks,” the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) said in a press release. “H.R. 1897 will undermine, not enhance, the protection of our national parks and the wildlife that call them home.”
What Happened and What’s Next
The House was expected to vote on the bill this week. And yet, according to reporting from Politico, on Wednesday, Speaker Mike Johnson unexpectedly “yanked the ESA Amendments Act, H.R. 1897, from consideration without explanation.” Reporting suggests that opposition from six Republican lawmakers from Florida, plus Republicans from Pennsylvania and New York, triggered the action.
What happens next is unclear. Westerman told Politico that the delay was due to the House facing more pressing, timely issues.
Conservation groups were quick to celebrate. “Congress is finally listening to the majority of Americans who support the Endangered Species Act, rather than centering politics and money in its policy decisions,” Mary Beth Beetham, legislative director of Defenders of Wildlife, said in a press release.
“The decision to not advance the vote keeps current safeguards in place, which have protected 99% of species from extinction. While there is still much more work to secure lasting protections for wildlife, today’s outcome is a meaningful victory for conservation.”
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