The Trump administration on Friday finalised a rule that removes habitat destruction from the definition of 'harm' under the Endangered Species Act, a move that will allow oil and gas drilling, mining, logging and other development on critical wildlife habitats so long as the animals themselves are not directly killed or injured. The change, announced jointly by the Interior and Commerce departments, rescinds an interpretation that had been in place for nearly three decades and that officials described as a regulatory overreach that burdened landowners and industry.

The legal mechanism rests on the Supreme Court's 2024 decision in Loper Bright v. Raimondo, which ended the doctrine of Chevron deference and instructed courts to apply the 'single best' meaning of a statute rather than deferring to agency interpretations. Administration officials argue that the previous definition, which included significant habitat modification that actually kills or injures wildlife, expanded federal authority beyond what Congress intended. The new rule narrows the scope of the law's prohibition on 'taking' endangered species, effectively decoupling habitat protection from the act's enforcement.

Viewed from Washington, the decision fulfils a long-standing demand from energy producers, timber interests and agricultural groups who have argued that habitat-based restrictions imposed costly permitting burdens and blocked projects. Officials cited the dunes sagebrush lizard in the Permian Basin and the lesser prairie-chicken across the Great Plains as examples where speculative habitat concerns had constrained development. Environmental organisations, including Earthjustice and the Center for Biological Diversity, immediately announced legal challenges, arguing that habitat destruction is the primary driver of extinction and that the rule lacks scientific, legal or public support. They point to the 1995 Supreme Court ruling that upheld the broader definition of harm.

In parallel regulatory actions, the administration is also reshaping immigration rules. The Department of Homeland Security is set to introduce changes to the H-1B visa programme that would reduce cap exemptions for universities, tighten requirements for workers placed at third-party client sites, and raise wage thresholds for employment-based green cards. Separately, work permits for hundreds of thousands of immigrants with temporary protected status from Haiti and six other countries were extended just hours before expiry, a move that labour groups had urged to avert workplace disruption. The next milestone for the Endangered Species Act rule will be its entry into force, followed by the filing of lawsuits that are expected to test the administration's reliance on the Loper Bright precedent.