Group sues Trump for repealing U.S. wildlife rule in rare legal challenge

An environmental group sued President Donald Trump's administration on Thursday over the repeal of a U.S. rule intended to protect wildlife, in the first court challenge to a law being used by Republicans to ease federal regulation.

In February, the Republican-controlled Congress used the Congressional Review Act, or CRA, to dismantle a rule that the administration of former Democratic President Barack Obama finalized in August to limit hunting on federal lands in Alaska.

The rule had exempted wolves and bears from Alaska's plans to control predators, which included killing wolves and their pups in their dens and shooting bears from planes.

The CRA only requires simple majorities in the House of Representatives and Senate and the president's signature to wipe newly minted regulations off the books.