House Republicans Advance Bill to Gut Endangered Species Act

Washington, D.C. —

A bill that would dramatically weaken the widely popular Endangered Species Act (ESA) is set to advance in the U.S. House of Representatives today, following a markup by the House Natural Resources Committee. 

The “ESA Amendments Act of 2025,” sponsored by Rep. Bruce Westerman (R-AR), would substantially reduce the critical protections the ESA provides for thousands of imperiled plants and animals. It proposes to:  

• upend the scientific consultation process that has successfully guided American species protection for over 50 years;  

• significantly slow listings while fast-tracking the removal of listed species, and 

• enable increased exploitation of threatened species while also shifting their management from federal agencies to states, despite those species remaining nationally listed. 

“The vast majority of Americans do not want Congress to gut the Endangered Species Act. We’ve seen this as hundreds of thousands of people have submitted public comments in opposition to the Trump administration’s attacks on the ESA this year,” said Earthjustice Legislative Director for Lands, Wildlife, and Oceans Addie Haughey. “If this bill passes, protections for species like the Florida manatee, monarch butterfly, and California spotted owl would immediately decrease. Voters should keep in mind the elected representatives who are enabling this assault on our iconic American wildlife during the midterm elections next November.” 

Background: 

Westerman’s anti-ESA attack arrives after a series of attempts by the Trump administration to weaken the law, including a proposed rule that would allow for the destruction of species’ habitat for the first time in the 50-year-history of the ESA. President Trump has also spent the year reducing the federal workforce responsible for implementing the ESA, making the potential consequences of the Westerman bill even worse with fewer biologists, park rangers, and wildlife staff in service.

The ESA is responsible for saving 99% of species under its protection from going extinct, including iconic wildlife like the bald eagle, humpback whale, polar bear, and American bison, as well as lesser-known plants and animals which are no less critical to keeping our ecological networks intact and functioning. The ESA acts as a safeguard for ecosystems that humans rely on for everything from access to clean water to crops. 

In addition to its success, the ESA remains one of the most popular laws in country, with more than four out of five Americans in support of it, regardless of political affiliation.