The Trump administration’s “God Squad” is headed into uncertain legal waters this week when it exempted Gulf of Mexico oil and gas development from the Endangered Species Act. While the panel’s decision Tuesday has already been challenged in court, it’s unclear if the unprecedented decision is even subject to judicial review.
The Justice Department is already on record in a March 25 filing responding to litigation challenging the move saying the committee’s actions are reviewable in a US court of appeals, Bracewell’s Seth Barsky, a former Justice Department environmental litigator, told Bloomberg Law.
“I do think there’s an initial question as to which court would have jurisdiction to review this,” Barsky said. “You can expect the government to move to dismiss and say it’s in the wrong court.”
