Read more Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced Monday that his office is suing the U.S. Department of the Interior, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and Biden administration officials for declaring a rare lizard endangered earlier this year,

Paxton says the endangered designation is weaponizing environmental law to undermine the Texas oil and gas industries.

Less than three inches long, the lizard inhabits parts of the Permian Basin near Midland-Odessa and the southeast corner of New Mexico, according to the

Paxton says the endangered designation is weaponizing environmental law to undermine the Texas oil and gas industries.

The dunes sagebrush lizard have lost more than 95% of their habitat to sand mining and oil and gas development, officials say.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued the Biden administration on Monday for declaring the dunes sagebrush lizard an endangered species, saying the politically motivated decision could harm property owners and energy production.