Former US Congressman Richard Pombo (R-California) is happy this week. His political career took a nosedive in the mid-aughts amid criss-crossing corruption and influence-peddling scandals, but in 2015 he returned to Beltway politics as a lobbyist for mining and water-management companies — and now is his moment to shine.

Pombo is pleased because the Trump administration and Republican lawmakers have initiated an unprecedented offensive against the Endangered Species Act (ESA), which he has been trying to eviscerate since 2005. (The Sierra Club called Pombo “the most dangerous member of the House;” one critic said, “Having Pombo represent a district that includes Yosemite National Park is like electing Godzilla as mayor of Tokyo.”)

“It’s probably the best chance that we have had in 25 years to actually make any substantial changes” to the ESA, Pombo told the New York Times of the current offensive. These substantial changes include a proposed provision to “allow the economic consequences of protecting plants or animals to be considered when deciding whether or not they face extinction.” If this amendment passes, species could be removed or disqualified from the list because their habitats are desirable to the oil, mining, logging, ranching, and development industries.