Republicans have only a few weeks left until they cede control of the House to Democrats, but the first big post-election GOP vote won’t address taxes or border wall funding.

It involves wolves.

Republicans are furiously pushing legislation that would remove gray wolves in the 48 contiguous U.S. states from the list of threatened and endangered animals protected under the Endangered Species Act, which safeguards those animals’ habitats. The House of Representatives is expected to vote on the bill Friday.

In Washington state, the federal act protects gray wolves in the western two thirds of the state. Throughout the state, the…