2 Polls Point to Jewish Safety Concerns  

By The Media Line Staff  

A majority of Jewish adults in the United States say they feel less safe than before Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel, as separate polling shows that one in six young Democrats in the US have a sympathetic view of Hamas.    

About 6 in 10 Jewish adults feel “less safe” as Jews in the US than before the 2023 attack, according to an AP-NORC poll. The figure rises to about 7 in 10 among religiously Jewish respondents.  

Roughly 4 in 10 said they are “less likely” to wear, carry or display items identifying them as Jewish. About 3 in 10 said they or someone in their household experienced physical assault, verbal abuse, online harassment or property damage because of their Jewish background over the past year.  

About 6 in 10 described prejudice against Jews as an “extremely” or “very” serious problem in the US. Jewish adults with strong emotional attachments to Israel were more likely to hold that view.  

The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research surveyed 3,040 US adults from June 11-17, 2026, through NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel.  

A separate Pew Research Center survey found declining views of Israel, while 13% of Americans aged 18-29 expressed a favorable opinion of Hamas.   

This percentage was down from 18% last year and 14% in 2024. Favorable views of the terrorist group stood at 13% among Democrats and 6% among Republicans.  

Among Democrats aged 18-29, one in six viewed Hamas favorably, compared with one in nine young Republicans. Support was highest among Muslims at 44%, up seven points from 2024, and lowest among Jews at 2% and white evangelical Protestants at 4%.  

The share of Americans holding an unfavorable view of the Israeli people rose from 25% in 2022 to 42%, while favorable views fell from 67% to 52%. Unfavorable views of the Israeli government increased from 43% in 2022 to 62%.  

Respondents under 30 favored Palestinians over Israelis, 58% to 32%. Among young Democrats, 72% were pro-Palestinian and 26% pro-Israeli.  

The Pew survey questioned 12,574 US adults in May and had a margin of error of 1.3%. 

July 11 (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump said on Saturday that he had “just finished” a physical at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, referring to the medical examination he underwent in late May after which the White House said he was in excellent health.

“I just finished a perfect physical at Walter Reed, I do it every six months, and I requested another Cognitive Test, the only President to do so, three times, and I aced them all — Got every question right,” Trump, who turned 80 in June, posted on social media. 

The White House said Trump was referring to his May physical.

He included the remarks in a social media post attacking New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman and her colleague Jonathan Swan, who recently published a book about Trump’s return to power that has drawn widespread attention.

 Haberman and Swan’s “Regime Change: Inside the Imperial Presidency of Donald Trump” described concerns among some White House aides about Trump’s age, stamina and physical condition.

 At 80, Trump is the oldest person to serve as U.S. president. Questions about the health and mental fitness of aging leaders have become a recurring issue in Washington after concerns over former President Joe Biden’s cognitive abilities ultimately led him to end his 2024 reelection campaign.

Trump has frequently touted his performance on cognitive tests, saying he has taken them multiple times and received perfect scores.

(Reporting by Ismail Shakil and Jarrett Renshaw; Editing by Sergio Non and Mark Porter)

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — U.S. and Iranian leaders traded threats on Saturday as the interim deal to end the war buckled under crossfire in the Middle East and efforts continued to keep talks going.

President Donald Trump overnight made threats on social media of further missile attacks against Iran, after the funeral of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei saw open calls for the U.S. leader’s killing. Senior U.S. officials demanded that Iran make a public statement saying the Strait of Hormuz is open and ships won’t be attacked.

Later, Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei vowed that Iranians would continue to avenge his father’s death. Such revenge “is the will of our nation and must certainly be carried out,” he said in remarks carried by state television. He still has not been seen publicly since the war began on Feb. 28 with strikes that killed his father.

Tehran has insisted that the strait remain under its control and that it be allowed to charge ships moving through it, a stance it took after the war began.

The exchange of threats followed days of U.S. airstrikes targeting Iran, sparked by Iran’s attacks on three ships in the strait, and Iranian retaliatory fire targeting Arab nations in the region.

Trump has declared the ceasefire over but said the U.S. would continue negotiations. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Saturday traveled to Oman, located on the other side of the strait, for more talks, a day after Qatari mediators met with officials in Tehran.

Trump says he responded to threats to kill him

A thousand “missiles are Locked and Loaded and aimed at the Islamic Republic of Iran, with thousands more to immediately follow, should the Iranian Government act on its threat,” Trump wrote on his website.

He said he was responding to threats “to assassinate, or attempt to assassinate” him. During Khamenei’s funeral, mourners held posters or banners calling for Trump to be killed along with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Iran buried Khamenei, 86, this week.

Trump added that the U.S. military would “completely decimate and destroy all areas of Iran — PRAISE BE TO ALLAH!”

Trump has repeatedly invoked the name of God in Arabic, and threatened to destroy Iran’s very civilization. The Council on American-Islamic Relations, an advocacy group, has criticized Trump’s “deranged mocking of Islam.”

US officials accuse hard-liners of trying to sabotage the deal

U.S. officials, speaking on condition of anonymity about the current situation with Iran, said the resumption of strikes this week came after what they described as a rogue faction of Iranian hard-liners tried to sabotage the ceasefire.

However, Iran has insisted its theocracy is unified under the new supreme leader.

After the U.S. wrapped up its latest strikes on Thursday, more attacks reportedly hit Iran, raising questions about who else may be targeting the Islamic Republic.

Israel didn’t claim them, meaning the Gulf Arab states may have launched them, likely as a means to deter Iran from attacking them again. Iran on Thursday retaliated for U.S. strikes by targeting Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait and Qatar.

The strikes in Iran over two days killed at least 17 people and wounded 115 others, Iranian Health Ministry spokesperson Hossein Kermanpour said.

US says nuclear deal will require Iran to turn over enriched uranium

The U.S. officials told journalists the U.S. would never reach a nuclear deal with Iran if it does not first stop its attacks on ships in the strait.

They also said any deal on Iran’s nuclear program would require Tehran to turn over its stockpile of highly enriched uranium. That’s something Iran has repeatedly refused.

If the U.S. doesn’t reach a deal with Iran to turn over the material, it has military options to ensure that it remains buried underground forever, the officials said. They did not detail them.

The uranium, enriched to near weapons-grade levels, is believed to be at nuclear sites the U.S. bombed in 2025. Iran long has insisted its nuclear program is peaceful, though the International Atomic Energy Agency has said the Islamic Republic is the world’s only country to enrich uranium so highly without a weapons program.

PETERSBURG, Alaska (AP) — On Independence Day, as second-term Republican Dan Sullivan and his chief rival in Alaska’s U.S. Senate race Democrat Mary Peltola headlined parades, the other Dan Sullivan seeking the seat was happily on the sidelines of festivities in this small fishing community he long has called home.

He blended in as well as one can in a town where everyone knows just about everyone else. He was not campaigning. “I didn’t want to turn it into something that was about me rather than about the celebration,” he said.

This Sullivan — Dan. J — has been an unconventional candidate from the start. He drew intense, immediate blowback for having the same name and party affiliation as the senator — Dan. S. — in a race that could help decide control of the Senate in November. The incumbent and GOP allies accused the same-named challenger in the Aug. 18 primary of being a sham candidate working with Democrats to sow confusion and help Peltola. Dan. J. Sullivan and the Peltola campaign have denied that claim.

A top state elections official booted Dan J. Sullivan from the ballot. The Alaska Supreme Court later ordered that he be included.

All candidates, including independents, run in one primary in Alaska. The top four vote-getters advance to the ranked vote general election in November. Primaries in the top races can be crowded, with more than a dozen candidates. Dan. J. Sullivan is among 16 hopefuls in the Senate race. The incumbent and Peltola are the highest-profile candidates and the only ones so far to report raising money.

Petersburg, where the challenger has lived for decades, is an island community of about 3,000 people in southeast Alaska that is accessible only by air or water. Many longtime residents find it hard to believe claims that their Dan Sullivan, a retired elementary and middle school teacher, is a dirty trickster.

“You really have to do a lot of mental gymnastics to suddenly not respect Dan Sullivan, because he’s honestly a very stand-up human being,” said Orin Pierson, publisher of the Petersburg Pilot newspaper.

Even some who do not know how they will vote, or declined to say, criticized the state’s attempts to block the political novice, saying he met the age, residency and citizenship requirements set out by the U.S. Constitution.

“To say somebody can’t run — that he’s fake — that’s fear,” said Linda Bunge, who attended a community potluck at a park where yellowish seaweed carpeted the beach at low tide. Bunge said she probably will vote for Peltola, a former congresswoman, but would consider Dan J. Sullivan.

Jeigh Stanton Gregor, a borough Assembly member who worked with him years ago at the local elementary school, said he was somewhat surprised Sullivan was running because people previously tried to recruit him for local offices. He called Sullivan’s character “unimpeachable.”

Stanton Gregor said he wants to see how the campaign plays out before deciding which candidate to support. Dan J. Sullivan’s concerns about healthcare costs resonate with him, but Stanton Gregor also has found the senator easy to work with and respects Peltola. A registered Democrat, Stanton Gregor said he generally votes for the person, not the party.

“Being a good human carries a lot of weight with me,” he said.

Last month, Republican Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom, who oversees elections, announced an investigation into Dan J. Sullivan’s run. She cited “credible allegations” that he ran in coordination with another candidate and campaign in an effort to “manipulate voters.” The announcement came after a lawyer for the National Republican Senatorial Committee asserted that Dan J. Sullivan’s work with a consultant who has worked with Democrats was evidence of an attempt to confuse voters and “rig the election” for Peltola. It is an assertion that the Republican Senate campaign arm has continued to make.

Dan J. Sullivan argued the state had no legal basis to block his candidacy. He said the allegation he worked with Peltola was “entirely false” and that the prior work of a consultant was not a legitimate reason to investigate him. The state Democratic Party and campaign groups denied recruiting Dan J. Sullivan or having any affiliation with him. The director of the state Division of Elections, Carol Beecher, in disqualifying him, did not mention finding any evidence of coordination.

But she determined he had not filed a “good-faith candidacy.” She cited factors such as his lack of affiliation with the Republican Party before filing and having a campaign site similar in appearance to the senator’s.

A state court judge voided her decision, ruling it was not based on constitutional or legal requirements and that there was not enough evidence to support her conclusion that Dan J. Sullivan aimed to confuse voters. The state Supreme Court affirmed placing him on the ballot but left to the Division of Elections to figure out how to do that.

While the challenger sought to appear as Republican Dan J. Sullivan, he is listed as Daniel J. Sullivan Jr., with no party affiliation. The senator is listed as Republican Dan S. Sullivan and as “incumbent,” a title not included for other candidates seeking reelection.

Dan J. Sullivan said he does not think that is fair, but if the agency’s concern “is truly that I’m going to confuse people, then this certainly will be a way that people should not be confused.”

He acknowledges his name gives him an advantage over the 13 candidates with little to no name recognition or campaign support. He is now trying to figure how to make the most of the limelight and deal with the scrutiny. He plans to take steps to fundraise and may campaign in other communities and participate in forums. Sullivan has a Facebook page and a basic campaign website.

“I want something to change, and it’s my right to do that,” he said. “I could put up a yard sign; I could write letters. In this case, I thought, wow, this would reach a lot more people.”

There was not one issue that prompted the Petersburg Sullivan to run, but he said he had grown frustrated by a senator he sees as unresponsive to constituents. He also wanted the incumbent to join Alaska’s senior senator, Republican Lisa Murkowski, in speaking out against a compensation fund proposed by the Trump administration and the possibility rioters who stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, could benefit from it.

Dan J. Sullivan said he worries President Donald Trump’s tariff policies and the war with Iran are driving up costs for Alaskans. He does not see the rural healthcare funding approved by Congress last year and promoted as transformational by the senator as helping address immediate needs.

Petersburg, like many small Alaska communities, has limited healthcare options. Residents needing specialized care must travel to larger cities. Residents will often maximize a trip to Juneau, the nearest city of size, by taking their vehicles on the state-run ferry and stocking up at Costco on cheaper groceries and supplies.

Resident Grace Wolf said she appreciates what the senator has done, saying he is fiscally responsible and that she likes his military background. The senator was a long-serving Marine and retired as a colonel in the Marine Corps Reserve. But “I feel like this time around, grassroots might be the way to go,” she said.

She plans to vote for Dan J. Sullivan, whom she knows as Mr. Sullivan.

Wolf worries about people being able to afford to stay in or move to the area and about protecting the health of local fisheries so important to the economy. Having people in office who can relate to those challenges is important, she said.

“I think we stand a better chance with having them at the helm and protecting our interests. It doesn’t matter if they’ve got a ‘D’ or an ‘R’ by their names. They’re our neighbors and they know what we’re going through.”

By Erin Banco and Bo Erickson

WASHINGTON, July 10 (Reuters) – The White House spent months looking for ways to bypass a federal election agency and use emergency powers to force changes to voting machines, before President Donald Trump ousted its leaders on Thursday, four people familiar with the matter said.

Some officials were frustrated with what they saw as the Election Assistance Commission’s slowness in updating guidelines for states on voting machines, the sources said, while some also wanted it to add a proof-of-citizenship requirement to its national mail voter registration form and address other election-related priorities of the administration.

Democratic lawmakers criticized the firings as an attempt to increase its control over U.S. elections, which are the purview of the states, and as undermining election integrity ahead of November’s midterm elections, when control of Congress will be at stake.

Trump fired the bipartisan federal agency’s two Democratic commissioners and allowed its lone Republican commissioner to resign, Reuters reported on Thursday. The agency’s fourth commissioner departed ​in April.

It was not immediately clear why Trump decided to force the commissioners out at this time or if they will be replaced. The agency remains operational, but without a quorum it cannot take up any new business, such as implementing changes to voting procedures or the national mail voter registration form.

“The administration from the start has been working across all agencies and local partners to safeguard elections from fraud and abuse, and investing in a strong infrastructure to sustain that mission especially in the midterm elections,” the White House said in a Friday statement when asked about the discussions on sidestepping the commission.

Trump and his allies have pressed Congress to adopt nationwide voting changes and argued that some voting systems require upgrades, as Trump continues to falsely claim that the 2020 election was stolen from him.

In a Thursday statement confirming the firings, the White House cited a Supreme Court decision in June that granted the president more power to fire members of independent agencies.

“(The president) reserves the right to remove individuals that may not be totally aligned with the important task of securing America’s elections,” the statement said.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, called the dismissals a “brazen attempt to seize control of our elections before a single vote is cast” in the midterms. 

“He is gutting the independent agency that certifies voting systems and helps election officials run secure elections,” Schumer said.

OFFICIALS DISCUSSED PROPOSAL FOR NATIONAL EMERGENCY

As early as last fall, White House officials reviewed a recommendation from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence to declare a national emergency and create a federal task force that could compel states to address vulnerabilities in voting systems, without going through the elections commission, according to the four sources.

The ODNI did not respond to a request for comment. 

The agency at that time was finalizing its probe of voting machines it had seized from Puerto Rico. 

ODNI officials concluded that there were flaws in the Puerto Rico machines that they believed could exist elsewhere, two of the sources said. Election experts have said the U.S. territory, which does not vote in presidential elections, lags the states in implementing the latest voting system guidelines.

The report was never published and the recommendation was never acted upon, but complaints about the elections commission continued, the two sources said. 

During the same period, the two sources said, officials from the Department of Homeland Security, ODNI and the White House met with the commission’s leaders to discuss their concerns, including flaws that they believed could have contributed to abnormalities in 2020 — claims that have been widely debunked.

The elections commission is responsible for setting guidelines for states on voting machine systems. Some Trump officials have argued internally that there are states operating with outdated software, three of the sources familiar with the conversations said, and felt the agency was moving too slowly to push for updates.

Election administration experts said the commission often moves slowly in its work because voting systems are complex, the technology is evolving, and policy changes involve extensive public feedback.

“The voting system guidelines haven’t been updated too frequently because the process takes a long time,” Matt Weil, vice president of governance at the Bipartisan Policy Center and a former commission staffer, said in an interview. “So yes, there is slowness, but that is not a bug, that’s a feature of the system.”

The remaining commission staff can still test and certify equipment, as well as publish research and reports and distribute federal grant money, according to two people familiar with the process. 

Congress approved $45 million for the commission in fiscal year 2026 for grants to states to improve election systems. Since 2018, the commission has distributed more than $1.4 billion for election administration, according to the Congressional Research Service.

(Reporting by Erin Banco and Bo Erickson; Editing by Colleen Jenkins and Edmund Klamann)

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Graham Platner on Friday submitted his paperwork to formally withdraw from Maine’s U.S. Senate race, officially ending an upstart yet troubled campaign whose dissolution threatens Democrats’ pursuit of chamber control.

The Maine Democratic Party announced later Friday that it will hold a nominating convention on July 25 to choose Platner’s replacement for the November ballot.

Platner’s paperwork was received by the Maine secretary of state’s office Friday afternoon.

In a letter to the secretary of state’s office, which Platner also posted on social media, he wrote that the Mainers who had nominated him “voted for a new kind of politics” that is “representative of people down here in the real world — not billionaires, oligarchs, or the political establishment.” It was the same outsider chord that had been a trademark of his tumultuous campaign, in which Platner drew backing from progressive leaders including Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna of California.

“I seek to further the movement we have built together and the future we believe in,” he went on, without detailing what that meant.

Maine is considered a key state for control of the narrowly divided Senate, and Democrats were desperate for a candidate capable of defeating Republican Sen. Susan Collins.

The formal withdrawal comes two days after Platner said he would quit the race, facing an allegation of sexual assault that he has denied. Maine Democrats are seeking a new nominee, and several hopefuls have already begun jockeying for position.

Maine Democratic Party Chairman Charlie Dingman said delegates representing all of Maine’s 16 counties will choose someone “who has the energy, ideas and popular support” to defeat Collins. The party said 601 delegates will participate.

“Our message to Mainers is this: While these circumstances are unprecedented and the challenge is enormous, your state party is ready and capable of rising to this challenge,” Dingman said.

State law includes a provision for Democrats to replace Platner before the general election but the replacement must by named by July 27.

Several Democrats have announced runs for the Senate nomination this week. They include three candidates who lost the June primary for the governor nomination — former Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention director Nirav Shah, Secretary of State Shenna Bellows and former Maine Senate President Troy Jackson.

Others who have announced runs include Maine Beer Company co-founder Dan Kleban; former 2nd Congressional District candidates Jordan Wood and Paige Loud; and former Maine Senate candidates David Costello and Andrea LaFlamme. State Rep. Valli Geiger has also expressed interest in the post but has not formally announced.

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This story has been corrected to show that state Rep. Valli Geiger has expressed interest in running but has not formally announced.

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Kinnard reported from Columbia, South Carolina.

By Kanishka Singh

WASHINGTON, July 10 (Reuters) – A self-identified white supremacist in Pennsylvania was indicted by a federal grand jury after he threatened violence against a member of Congress, Muslims, transgender people and Democrats, the Department of Justice said on Friday.

Here are the details:

• The 12-count indictment by a federal grand jury in Pittsburgh named Robert Hlovchiec, 32, as the sole defendant, the DOJ said in a statement, which did not identify the member of Congress.

• Between February and March, Hlovchiec posted comments to YouTube videos where he threatened violence against the member of Congress, Democrats and liberals, transgender people, and various minority groups like Muslims, the DOJ said.

• “If i get the chance i’m going to do a mass shooting wherever (member of Congress) is standing. (Member of Congress) needs to die … America is not for sale. America is not a Muslim country,” he said in his threats, according to the DOJ.

• “If i get the chance I’ll shoot everyone in (member of Congress)’s family. America is a white Christian nation. We are ready to kill and die before foreigner Muslims take over,” the DOJ quoted him as saying.

• The federal grand jury indicted Hlovchiec on “charges of interstate threats and influencing, impeding, or retaliating against a federal official by threat,” the DOJ said.

• Hlovchiec identified himself as a Nazi and a white supremacist and expressed desires to carry out mass shootings and assassinations, it added.

• A representative for the defendant could not be reached for comment.

• The FBI conducted the probe leading to the indictment, the DOJ said.

• U.S. rights advocates ​have noted rising Islamophobia over the last two-plus decades following the September 11, 2001 attacks, and more recently because of anti-immigration policies, white supremacy and the fallout of Israel’s ⁠war ​in Gaza.

• U.S. political experts have separately ​warned about political violence from rising polarization.

(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by David Gaffen and Kim Coghill)

By Jasper Ward

WASHINGTON, July 10 (Reuters) – The U.S. Department of Homeland Security said on Friday that states must adopt “common-sense election security measures” to receive certain funds from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

To qualify for three grant programs related to preparing for terrorist attacks and other threats, states must use a federal system for verifying voters’ citizenship and accept hand-marked paper ballots in elections, the DHS said. FEMA will withhold 20% of a grant recipient’s total award until the state shows it has complied, the department said.

“These new requirements for homeland security grant recipients will preserve election integrity and ensure that Americans can trust the results,” Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said in a statement.

The grant programs, totaling about $1.1 billion, have existed for years. None of them were designed with election security specifically in mind. 

States will be required to use the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements system to verify the citizenship status of everyone listed in the state voter registration database within 120 days of accepting a federal grant award, the DHS said.

It said states will also be required to  submit  a plan to move away from  electronic voting systems that use bar codes and QR codes to count votes . States will instead have to use equipment that accepts hand-marked paper ballots, it said.

States will also have to manually audit at least 5% of ballots cast and reconcile the number of voters who participated in each federal election with the number of votes.

The announcement comes four months ahead of November’s midterm elections.

President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly asserted without proof that there was fraud in the 2020 election won by rival Joe Biden, has taken other election-related steps in recent days.

On Thursday, Trump fired the last three members of the Election Assistance Commission, the ‌independent, federal commission that assists election administration officials nationwide.

The U.S. Department ​of Justice sent letters to all 50 states earlier this week warning that election officials could ‌face criminal charges for allowing noncitizens to remain on their lists of eligible voters.

(Reporting by Jasper Ward in Washington; Additional reporting by Costas Pitas; Editing by Daphne Psaledakis, Sergio Non and Tom Hogue)

July 10 (Reuters) – Maine Democratic Senate nominee Graham Platner has officially withdrawn from the state’s U.S. Senate race, the Maine secretary of state’s office said in a statement on Friday, meaning his name will not appear on the November 3 ballot and his political party has until July 27 to name a replacement.

Platner’s formal withdrawal came one month after he earned the Democratic Party nomination to challenge Republican Senator Susan Collins. Platner easily won the June 9 Democratic primary and became crucial to Democrats’ drive to win control of the Senate from Republicans in the November 3 election.

His fall came following a series of accusations this week, including one of rape, which he has denied.

“I write to formally withdraw my candidacy for United States Senate,” Platner wrote in a letter to the Maine secretary of state’s office.

The letter outlined major themes of his now-doomed campaign, including his drive for national healthcare. He concluded with an expletive aimed at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency that is at the center of President Donald Trump’s migrant deportation program and a call for a “Free Palestine.”

There already are six Democrats who have formally announced campaigns to replace Platner, in a procedure yet to be detailed by the Maine Democratic Party.

An outline of the process has been announced that would have party delegates gathering at a nominating convention, occurring before the July 27 deadline for submitting the new nominee’s name that will appear on November ballots.

(Reporting by Ryan Patrick Jones in Toronto and Richard Cowan; Editing by Daphne Psaledakis and David Gaffen)

July 10 (Reuters) – The Trump administration finalized a major change on Friday to how threatened species are considered in agency actions, removing regulatory language aimed at preventing damage to wildlife habitats and drawing a legal challenge. 

The change limits the reach of the 50-year-old Endangered Species Act, which is credited with helping to save the bald eagle, California condor and numerous other animals and plants from extinction.

The act is a key regulatory consideration for government agencies when granting permits for oil and gas, mining, electric transmission and other operations on federal lands and water.  

The new rule removes habitat destruction from the definition of the word “harm” in the ESA, meaning project developers would be allowed to impair places where species live so long as wildlife is not directly injured or killed.

The departments of Interior and Commerce said the final rule will reduce permitting and compliance costs for energy producers, farms, fishing interests and more. The move aligns with U.S. President Donald Trump’s goal to reduce regulations that he says constrain American businesses.

“This action restores common sense, respects private property, provides much-needed certainty for landowners and follows the statute Congress actually passed,” Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said in a statement. The administration proposed  the rule in April 2025.

Environmental group Earthjustice said it planned to sue.

“For the first time ever, a presidential administration now claims that species protected by the Endangered Species Act shouldn’t be safe from habitat modification that destroys where they live, raise their young, or search for food,” Kristen Boyles, an Earthjustice attorney, said in a statement. “Let’s be clear: there is no support for the Trump administration’s rule — no scientific support, no legal support, no public support.”

(Reporting by Nichola Groom; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Sanjeev Miglani)