President Trump signed an executive order directing the Interior Department to assess whether gray wolves should lose their endangered-species protections and ordering the Interior and Agriculture departments to let ranchers kill wolves when necessary to protect herds. The move is framed as part of efforts to address livestock depletion and lower domestic beef prices. Gray wolves were classified as endangered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services (FWS) in 1967. The FWS removed protections in the lower 48 states in 2020 during Trump’s first administration, but a federal judge restored them after wildlife advocates sued. House Republicans passed legislation last December to reinstate the 2020 rule, and the bill remains under Senate consideration. The order follows the administration’s decision to remove higher tariffs on beef imports from countries including Argentina and Brazil, a step that has drawn opposition from cattle ranchers and some GOP lawmakers. The policy has also prompted criticism from the Humane World Action Fund, while Wisconsin Rep. Tom Tiffany supported allowing states to manage wolf populations.