"Republicans Had an Earth Day Plan to Limit Species Protections. It Flopped."

"House leaders abruptly canceled a vote on the measure when support started to look shaky."

"House Republicans had big plans for Earth Day this year: They would pass a bill to narrow protections for endangered species that they had long seen as federal overreach.

It didn’t work out that way.

On Wednesday afternoon, Republican leaders suddenly canceled a vote on the measure after an initial procedural vote showed shaky support from party members. One Florida Republican, Representative Anna Paulina Luna, publicly aired concerns about the bill before the scheduled vote, writing on social media: “Don’t tread on my turtles. Protected means protected.” Her post contained an image of a yellow flag emblazoned with a sea turtle and the slogan “Don’t tread on me,” a phrase dating to the American Revolution that some conservatives have embraced in recent years."

Maxine Joselow and Catrin Einhorn report for the New York Times April 22, 2026.

SEE ALSO:

"A Bill to Gut Endangered Species Protections Faced a Major Setback This Week" (Inside Climate News)
https://insideclimatenews.org/news/23042026/endangered-species-act-amend...

Source: NYTimes, 04/24/2026