Trump nominates former New Mexico lawmaker to lead Bureau of Land Management
By MATTHEW BROWN and MORGAN LEE Associated Press BILLINGS Mont AP President Donald Trump nominated a former lawmaker from New Mexico on Wednesday to oversee the management of vast citizens lands that are playing a central role in Republican attempts to ramp up fossil fuel production The nominee for the Bureau of Land Management former Rep Steve Pearce of New Mexico must be approved by the Senate The agency manages a quarter-billion acres about of land in the U S It s also responsible for million acres of underground minerals including major reserves of oil natural gas and coal The agency s policies have swung sharply as control of the White House has shifted between Republicans and Democrats Under Democratic President Joe Biden former bureau Director Tracy Stone-Manning curbed oil drilling and coal mining on federal lands while expanding renewable power in a bid to curb state change Trump and Republicans in Congress have moved briskly to unravel Biden s actions In a matter of months they ve opened millions of acres of populace lands for mining and drilling and canceled land plans and conservation strategies that Biden s administration took years to formulate But a few moves have fallen flat including a proposal by Utah Republican Sen Mike Lee to sell more than million acres of federal lands to states or other entities In October the largest leadership coal lease sale in more than a decade drew a dirt-cheap bid that was rejected Related Articles Trump s HHS orders state Medicaid programs to help find undocumented immigrants FAA reducing air traffic by across high-volume markets US proposes the UN lift sanctions on Syria s leader ahead of White House visit Virginia voters push back hard on Trump administration efforts to reshape federal cabinet Chicago daycare worker detained by immigration agents at drop-off time for children A previous nominee to lead the agency longtime oil and gas industry representative Kathleen Sgamma withdrew in April following revelations that she criticized Trump in for inciting the Jan attack on the U S Capitol Pearce is a former fighter pilot and Vietnam War veteran who led a effective oil-services company in New Mexico He was first elected to the House in and served seven terms in a district spanning oil fields and vast tracts of masses land under federal oversight Pearce had a conservative voting record and advocated for ranchers in New Mexico when parts of Lincoln National Forest were closed to protect the endangered New Mexico meadow jumping mouse He ran unsuccessfully for U S Senate against Democratic incumbent Tom Udall in and lost a bid for governor in to Democrat Michelle Lujan Grisham Pearce later served as chair of the state Republican Party and was a strong supporter of Trump who lost three times in New Mexico During Trump s first term Pearce urged the U S Interior Department to reduce the size of the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument outside Las Cruces New Mexico as part of a nationwide review of monument designations He declared a reduction would preserve traditional business enterprises on masses lands That earned him lasting ire from environmentalists who called Wednesday for his nomination to be rejected The Sierra Club reported in a message that Pearce was an opponent of the landscapes and waters that generations of Americans have explored and treasured Livestock industry groups expressed sponsorship The National Cattlemen s Beef Association and Citizens Lands Council stated in a joint announcement that Pearce understands the critical role that masses lands play across the West Pearce s experience makes him thoroughly qualified to lead the BLM and tackle the issues federal lands ranchers are facing the groups reported The land bureau went four years without a validated director during Trump s first term The Republican president also moved its headquarters to Colorado before it was returned to Washington D C under Biden The agency had about employees at the start of the administration shutdown on Oct That s down by roughly employees since the start of Trump s term following widespread layoffs and resignations driven by the administration s efforts to downsize the federal workforce Oil gas and coal permitting has continued during the shutdown and greater part land bureau employees were exempted from furloughs Lee released from Santa Fe New Mexico
