Ric Grenell Questions Idaho’s Mike Simpson: Has He Solved Wolves Delisting Issue Yet?

Ric Grenell, President Donald Trump’s acting director of national intelligence, on Sunday questioned if Rep. Mike Simpson (R-ID) solved the issue over the delisting of wolves, which was one of the reasons why he opposed Rep. Jim Jordan’s (R-OH) bid for Speaker.

Simpson was among the 25 “intransigents” who opposed Jordan’s bid for Speaker in 2023.

Simpson’s vote against Jordan for Speaker earned him a condemnation from the Idaho Republican Party.

While many House Republicans had other issues they could list to oppose Jordan, Simpson at the time claimed that Jordan does not appreciate local Gem State issues such as the delisting of wolves and the Idaho National Laboratory (INL):

The Idaho Republican Party is pushing a false narrative that I am not representing my constituents based on not voting for Mr. Jordan. Perhaps Chairwoman Dorothy Moon has not lived in Idaho long enough to understand how important things like agriculture, delisting wolves, our nation’s military, and the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) are for our state. 

Grenell, citing Breitbart News’s piece on the subject, asked on Sunday, “Has @MikeSimpson4ID solved the delisting of wolves issue yet?”

Breitbart News asked Simpson’s office for a comment on Simpson’s actions to resolve the issue of delisting wolves. He has not responded as of press time.

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It remains unclear what Simpson has done to delist wolves from the Endangered Species Act (ESA) as other lawmakers have made substantial progress on the issue.

Reps. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) and Tom Tiffany (R-WI) sponsored the Trust the Science Act to permanently remove the gray wolf from the list of endangered species and restore authority to control gray wolf populations back to state lawmakers and state wildlife officials. Boebert and Tiffany’s bill passed out of the House Natural Resources Committee in April.

Simpson is not a sponsor of the House Natural Resources Committee-advanced legislation.

Update: A spokesperson for Simpson said Congressman Simpson delisted the wolves for the Northern Rocky Population:

Gray wolves in the Northern Rocky Mountain population (i.e., Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, the eastern third of Washington and Oregon, and north-central Utah) remain delisted, as confirmed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) in its November 3, 2023, Federal Register notice.

Idaho Fish and Game confirms on its site as well:

“On April 15, 2011, Congress passed the federal budget, which included a rider sponsored by Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) and Rep. Mike Simpson (R-Idaho) requiring the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to republish the 2009 delisting rule within 60 days and remove wolves in Montana, Idaho, eastern Washington, eastern Oregon, and north-central Utah from the endangered species list and turn wolf management over to the states. Wolves would continue to be managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Wyoming until the state has a USFWS-approved regulatory framework for wolf management.”

Sean Moran is a policy reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter @SeanMoran3.