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Attorney General William Tong announced Wednesday that Connecticut has joined a coalition of 21 states in filing two lawsuits against the Trump administration’s changes to Endangered Species Act (ESA) rules -- one against the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and another against FWS and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS).

In the statement, Tong claimed President Trump is “sacrificing entire species for short-term corporate and political gain” and that the damage “cannot be fixed in the next election cycle.” He called the rollbacks "reckless" and "callous."

The rules, finalized in July, do three things. They rescind a longstanding definition of “harm” that treated habitat modification itself as a take. They end automatic endangered-level protections for newly listed threatened species, requiring a species-specific rule instead. And they force agencies to weigh economic and national-security costs more heavily when designating critical habitat. Direct killing or injuring of listed animals remains illegal.

Similar rules went out in Trump’s first term, were challenged, then reversed under Biden.

“For years, federal agencies abused the ESA to obstruct lawful land use and burden American families and businesses,” said Department of the Interior Secretary Doug Burgum in July. “That approach turned routine activity into a regulatory trap, drove up costs that impacted people’s lives, and expanded federal authority beyond what Congress intended. This action restores common sense, respects private property, provides much-needed certainty for landowners and follows the statute Congress actually passed.”

“President Trump is rescinding overly broad and burdensome regulations that have restrained our fishermen for too long,” said Department of Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. “We’re returning the ESA to its foundational purpose to ensure legitimate conservation goals are met without sacrificing economic growth and American prosperity.”

The Department of the Interior said the final rule would "reduce unnecessary permitting, cut compliance costs, and eliminate confusion for landowners, small businesses, energy producers, farmers, ranchers and local governments."

Nonetheless, Tong said he planned to "save our environment and countless threatened and endangered species from irreversible, permanent harm."

The Centinal asked Tong's office for a comment on what steps the Attorney General is taking to stop the environmental harm caused by illegal aliens illegally fishing in Connecticut's waters, wiping out clams, steamers, blue crabs and mussels. His office has not yet responded.

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