Senate referee rules out public land sales in megabill

E&E News

4 days ago

A plan to sell millions of acres of public lands has been ruled out of the Republican-led megabill by the Senate parliamentarian.
The decision, according to a Monday night release from Senate Budget Committee Democrats, would seem to scuttle a proposal from Energy and Natural Resources Chair Mike Lee (R-Utah). The move to sell the lands for housing had kicked a hornet's nest with both his GOP colleagues and online conservative allies.
Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough also ruled out a host of other provisions Monday, including the construction of a mining road in Alaska, as well as changes to permitting and oil and gas leasing. Her opinion is key because Republicans want to use the budget reconciliation process to bypass the Senate filibuster to pass their tax cut, energy and border security package.
Advertisement
Just minutes before the parliamentarian's determination became public, Lee, a conservative who has long-championed returning public lands to states, posted on the social media site X that he would significantly alter his plan.
He vowed to remove all sales on Forest Service lands and 'significantly reduce' the amount of Bureau of Land Management sales. He also promised to make land near population centers eligible.
Whether Lee submits such changes to the parliamentarian is unclear. Ahead of the MacDonough's determination, Lee had weathered a storm of criticism from conservation-minded conservatives.
'We're trying to show every relevant senator on this and the president that this is really unpopular with conservatives,' said Benji Backer, a conservative environmental advocate who has clashed with Lee online.
Backer said conservative influencers had been 'very frustrated' and were ready to speak out. 'There's a lot of Republicans who feel like this is overshadowing the president's agenda,' Backer said.
Benji Backer, founder of the American Conservation Coalition, has come out against the land sales. |for Concordia
Christopher Rufo — a prominent opponent of diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives — said on social media that he's 'totally against selling this land.'
Mike Solana, editor-in-chief of the publication Pirate Wires, said the proposal was 'almost too stupid to believe.'
And when Lee questioned talking points against the land sales, Chris LaCivita, who ran President Donald Trump's successful 2024 campaign, responded that, 'Many of these arguments are valid.'
It's unclear whether the online pile-on had an impact on Lee's thinking. He did not answer questions from reporters at the Capitol on Monday. But he wrote, 'Thanks to YOU—the AMERICAN PEOPLE—here's what I plan to do,' when announcing changes in his proposal.
Lee has argued that his legislation is limited to 'unused federal land that is in residential areas or creates checkerboard patterns — not about the breathtaking landscapes that make America so beautiful.'
The plan would have authorized the sale of up to 1.5 percent of Bureau of Land Management and Forest Service land combined, with exceptions for national monuments, wilderness areas and national recreation areas, among other categories.
Changes made to the bill last week seemed to limit the sales to only housing and housing-related uses, though environmental groups say that wider swaths of land would have been eligible for sale.
Hunting group pressure
One group seems to have gotten through to Lee. The senator first said he would be making changes over the weekend in response to objections from Hunter Nation, an advocacy organization that counts Donald Trump Jr. as a member of its board.
'What we discussed is Hunter Nation is very concerned with the indiscriminate sale of public lands that would adversely impact hunters and the hunting lifestyle,' said Keith Mark, the founder of the group.
'We spoke about this particular provision in the bill and ways that it could be done differently, maybe better, and maybe a little bit more thought might be needed for it.'
Mark said that although the pair 'didn't work out anything,' he expressed to Lee that he 'would like to see the entire proposal taken out of the bill.'
'I'm a big fan of Sen. Lee,' Mark said. 'The fact that he's willing to listen to the American hunter, that speaks volumes for Sen. Lee in my opinion.'
Land Tawney, a left-of-center public lands advocate and the co-chair of American Hunters and Anglers who has been urging individuals to push back online, had a slightly harsher point of view.
'You can't make this language better,' Tawney said on Instagram. 'Together we will burn this thing to the ground the way it needs to be done.'
Lauren Leib, president of the National Treasury Employees Union Chapter 340 and a Bureau of Land Management employee, addressed a rally Monday against public land sales in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum was scheduled to appear nearby. | Heather Richards/POLITICO's E&E News
Hill hurdles
Despite the online backlash, Lee's most formidable opponents had been his own colleagues in the Senate. Four Republican senators said they did not support Lee's proposal: Steve Daines and Tim Sheehy of Montana, and Jim Risch and Mike Crapo of Idaho.
Daines has been the subject of particular scrutiny on the land sales, given that public lands are sacrosanct in the state and that he is up for reelection in 2026.
Montana was exempted from any potential sales, a likely move by Lee to shield Daines and Sheehy. In the House, Montana Republican Ryan Zinke has also balked against land sales in reconciliation.
Daines said earlier Monday that 'I oppose it.' He told Punchbowl News that 'the way it's written right now, it's not going to pass.' It's unclear how Lee's changes may affect the calculus.
Former Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) said Daines and others should have reason to worry. 'They should be voted out of office if they vote for it, it's a bad idea,' Tester said.
'I know that Sen. Daines thought he inoculated himself by saying, 'Well, none of it's going to be sold in Montana,' which is ridiculous because public land is public land, we don't just live in one state.'
Tester added, 'They're not even doing a [committee] vote on it, they're just sending it out so there can be no accountability, and then when they put it in the big bill, they'll vote for it and say, 'Well, I couldn't vote against it because of this.' What a bunch of bullshit,' Tester said.
Lee said Monday night he wanted to establish 'FREEDOM ZONES' to make sure lands 'benefit AMERICAN FAMILIES,' and to protect farmers, ranchers and recreational users.
The Senate Energy and Natural Resources chair said he recognized the limits of budget reconciliation but said, 'I'm doing everything I can to support President Trump and move this forward. Stay tuned. We're just getting started.'