Trump’s sneaky plan to gut Endangered Species Act draws from 1995 Scalia dissent

President Trump has adopted a plan to weaken the Endangered Species Act (ESA) that draws from a 1995 dissent written by the late Justice Antonin Scalia. The plan, which has not yet been made public, is based on a dissent Scalia wrote in Babbitt v. Sweet Home Chapter of Communities for a Greater Oregon, a case involving the ESA. In the dissent, Scalia argued that the ESA's restrictions on private property were unconstitutional. Trump's plan would limit the ability of the federal government to protect endangered species by expanding the definition of 'harm' to only include 'take' or 'harm' that results in 'substantial economic injury'. This would make it easier for developers to build projects that may harm endangered species, as long as the harm is not 'substantial'. The plan would also limit the ability of the government to designate critical habitat for endangered species.