Trump Declares Endangered Species Act Restored to Original Scope

Trump says his administration has narrowed the Endangered Species Act, citing Justice Antonin Scalia and vowing to expand oil, gas, timber and homebuilding.

First Published: August 4, 2026, 3:07 PM ET

WASHINGTON D.C. — Donald J. Trump said his administration has narrowed the Endangered Species Act, ending what he called decades of regulatory overreach that blocked energy, timber and housing production.

Trump framed the change as a rollback of environmental rules he blamed on unelected officials. Trump said the law would now permit expanded drilling, logging and construction on land previously placed off limits. Trump cited the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia as supporting his interpretation of the statute.

Here is the full post on truthsocial: “For far too long, Radical Climate Activists attempted to hold our Great Country hostage by drastically and unreasonably expanding the intended scope of the Endangered Species Act. This was complete and total regulatory overreach by unelected bureaucrats! They treated Americans very unfairly by stifling the production of important resources like Oil, Natural Gas, and Timber, and blocking the construction of family homes and critical Infrastructure. Even our Military couldn’t train on land that was deemed “off limits” to protect a little rodent! Now my Administration has returned the Endangered Species Act to how it was intended to be, just as the Great Justice Antonin Scalia has explained in previous cases. While responsibly protecting our beautiful Country, the United States of America is going to BUILD again. Thank you for your attention to this matter! Trump” on August 4, 2026 at 6:52 PM ET.

This is Trump’s 26th message released today, and the last post came moments earlier, and it is not part of a thread. On average, Trump produces 18 posts per day since his inauguration on January 20, 2025. The move fits a broader pattern in Trump’s recent messaging, with 3 of his 448 posts over the last 30 days classified as Climate posts.

The Endangered Species Act became law in 1973 and directs federal agencies to protect species at risk of extinction and the habitat they depend on, according to fws.gov. The statute has long divided industry groups seeking access to land and conservationists who credit it with recovering species such as the bald eagle. Trump did not specify in the post which regulations his administration changed or which agency actions carried out the shift.

The stakes fall hardest on landowners, energy developers and homebuilders on one side and conservation groups on the other. Oil, gas and timber operators stand to gain access to acreage that habitat rules had restricted. Species listed as threatened or endangered could lose protections that limited development near their ranges. Military installations that faced training limits over protected habitat could regain use of that land.

The average reader may notice the change through energy prices, housing supply and the pace of infrastructure projects near protected land. Fewer habitat restrictions could speed some construction and resource extraction. The practical effect depends on how courts and agencies apply the new interpretation.

This has happened before. The first Trump administration issued rules in 2019 that changed how the government listed species and defined critical habitat, according to fws.gov. Federal courts struck down several of those revisions, and the Biden administration later reversed key portions, leaving the statute’s reach contested through repeated rulemakings.

Federal agencies and the courts will determine whether the latest interpretation survives legal challenge. A specific date for any court ruling or final agency action has not been announced.

Battles over the Endangered Species Act have reshaped American land use for half a century, as happened before. The northern spotted owl’s 1990 listing halted logging across millions of acres of old-growth forest in the Pacific Northwest, according to fws.gov, triggering years of litigation between timber towns and regulators. The snail darter, a three-inch fish, stopped the Tellico Dam in a 1978 Supreme Court case before Congress intervened, according to britannica.com. Each fight left presidents balancing development against a law that courts have repeatedly defended.