Referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources.
Congressional Research Service
Official summary
Version 00 · Introduced in House · Jan 3, 2025
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This bill directs the Department of the Interior to remove protections for the gray wolf under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA). Specifically, the bill requires Interior to reissue the final rule titled Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Removing the Gray Wolf (Canis lupus) From the List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and published on November 3, 2020.
The rule removed the gray wolf in the lower 48 United States, except for the Mexican wolf (C. l. baileyi) subspecies, from the endangered and threatened species list. However, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California vacated the rule on February 10, 2022. As a result, the gray wolf reattained the protection status it had prior to the rule's promulgation.
The bill also prohibits the reissuance of the rule from being subject to judicial review.
Source last updated: Dec 6, 2025. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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PlainBill explanation
Read the proposal in plain language
AI-generated · Source-checked by AI · Oct 30, 2026
Based on the full Introduced in House · 2025-01-03 text. This explanation has not received human editorial review. This overview describes the proposal’s major provisions; it does not establish what its real-world effects would be.
What it would do
This bill would require the Interior Department to reissue a 2020 rule removing gray wolves from the federal list of endangered and threatened wildlife within 60 days after enactment. It would also prevent courts from reviewing that reissuance. The supplied bill does not reproduce the rule’s precise coverage or exceptions.
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Not later than 60 days after the date of enactment of this section, the Secretary of the Interior shall reissue the final rule entitled Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Removing the Gray Wolf (Canis lupus) From the List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and published on November 3, 2020 (85 Fed. Reg. 69778).
Section 2 would require the Secretary of the Interior to reissue the specified rule published on November 3, 2020. The deadline would be 60 days after this section becomes law; the requirement would be mandatory.
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Not later than 60 days after the date of enactment of this section, the Secretary of the Interior shall reissue the final rule entitled Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Removing the Gray Wolf (Canis lupus) From the List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and published on November 3, 2020 (85 Fed. Reg. 69778).
The supplied official-actions snapshot, updated December 6, 2025, records introduction in the House and referral to the House Committee on Natural Resources on January 3, 2025.
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Source snapshot updated 2025-12-06T06:46:47Z.
2025-01-03: Referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources.
2025-01-03: Introduced in House
Reviewed version: Introduced in House · 2025-01-03. These findings describe provisions and who may benefit; they are not judgments of waste, corruption, or motive.
This review covers the supplied bill text. “None identified” does not rule out provisions in later versions or accompanying reports and disclosures.
Provisions outside the bill’s main subject, or policy changes attached to appropriations.
None identified in the reviewed text
No unrelated provision was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion does not extend to other versions or accompanying materials.
Spending directed to particular recipients or places outside ordinary competitive or formula-based allocation.
None identified in the reviewed text
No congressionally directed spending for particular recipients or places was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion does not establish absence in other versions or accompanying materials.
Other targeted benefits
Narrow exceptions, exemptions, or preferential treatment that warrant a closer look.
Findings to examine
The supplied introduced text contains a narrow exception to court review tied to its main policy. This classification is not a judgment about its justification.
Section 3 would give the Interior Department’s required rule reissuance special protection from court review. This is a narrow procedural exception directly connected to the bill’s gray-wolf policy; the text does not name a private beneficiary.
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Reissuance of the final rule under section 2 shall not be subject to judicial review.
Not later than 60 days after the date of enactment of this section, the Secretary of the Interior shall reissue the final rule entitled Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Removing the Gray Wolf (Canis lupus) From the List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and published on November 3, 2020 (85 Fed. Reg. 69778).
The bundle contains the complete introduced bill, but not the referenced 2020 rule. Its geographic coverage, exceptions, and detailed legal consequences cannot be determined from the supplied evidence.
The supplied action snapshot does not establish passage or enactment. Its lack of later actions does not prove that the bill never advanced or became law.
No accompanying earmark disclosures, committee reports, or amendment history are supplied. The category assessments are limited to the introduced text.
Full text preserved for this analysis. Legislative record snapshot: Dec 6, 2025. How PlainBill uses AI