Texas Attorney General Sues Biden Administration

By Jonathan Stempel

(Reuters) – Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued the Biden administration on Monday for declaring the dunes sagebrush lizard an endangered species. He claims the politically motivated decision could harm property owners and energy production.

Paxton, a Republican, argued that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service used faulty data and arbitrary assumptions about the lizard's future when adopting a final rule on May 20 that declared the animal endangered. He stated that this move threatens private landowners' ability to conduct business while ensuring the lizard's survival across its vast range that overlaps the Permian Basin, the U.S.'s highest-producing oil region.

The lawsuit was filed in federal court in Midland, Texas, with the aim to void the final rule. Paxton has a history of filing lawsuits challenging Biden administration policies. In his statement, he accused the Democratic administration of "weaponizing environmental law" as part of a "backdoor attempt to undermine Texas's oil and gas industries, which help keep the lights on for America."

The U.S. Department of the Interior, which includes the Fish and Wildlife Service, declined to comment. Both agencies have been named as defendants in the lawsuit.

In June, the Railroad Commission of Texas, which regulates the state's oil and gas industry, requested Paxton to challenge the lizard's endangered status, calling the listing "nothing more than a political game."

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, Texas produced 43% of the nation’s crude oil and 27% of its marketed natural gas in 2023. The range of the dunes sagebrush lizard covers 1.25 million acres (1,953 square miles), according to the Fish and Wildlife Service.

The case is Texas v. U.S. Department of the Interior et al, U.S. District Court, Western District of Texas, No. 24-00233.