Trump's Scheme To Sell Off Millions Of Acres Of Public Lands Just Came To A Screeching Halt

 

Pendley looks like a crook because he is a crook

Trump has the luxury of a spineless, knee-jerk Republican Senate run by #MoscowMitch, a Senate that has shown that it is willing to confirm a steaming pile of stinking crap if Trump sets one down in front of it... Donald even has some Democraps-- like Kyrsten Sinema and Joe Manchin-- willing to go along for the ride. But some of his nominations-- the undeniable cutthroats and thieves who are beyond just unqualified but who are being put in place to destroy and upend decades of bipartisan policy... well, some of those have even been too much for the Senate. After all, how are Susan Collins, Steve Daines, Dan Sullivan, Thom Tillis and Cory Gardner expected to get reelected if they vote for some of this garbage?

So Trump has been filling executive positions without Senate approval, more so than any other president in history-- and without batting an eye. One of the worst is William Perry Pendley, who Donald made head of Bureau of Land Management, part of the Department of the Interior. Pendley is probably best known in Wyoming where he has been an extremist predatory attorney trying to force the federal government to sell all its lands to corporations. The Democrat running for the open Wyoming Senate seat, Merav Ben-David has been campaigning on a platform that includes "keeping public lands in public hands." Although it was a Montana lawsuit, I asked her how the result is likely to impact Wyoming. She told me that she's a hunter, biker, hiker, and skieër, just like the vast majority of Wyomingites. I know, and Wyomingites know, that we need to protect our public lands and keep them in public hands."

On Friday, in response to a suit by Montana Governor Steve Bullock, U.S. District Judge Brian Morris ruled that Pendley is serving illegally and that he must vacate the position he's held for nearly a year and a half without the Regime asking the Senate to confirm him, which is, after all, something mandated by the constitution. Morris ruled that the Regime's arguments were "evasive and undermine the constitutional system of checks and balances... Under the federal defendant’s theory, a president could ignore their constitutional appointment responsibility indefinitely and instead delegate authority directly or through cabinet secretaries to unconfirmed appointed officials. Such an arrangement could last for an entire presidential administration. In fact, the case before the Court presents that scenario."

After the ruling, Bullock, who is running for the U.S. Senate, said "Today’s ruling is a win for the Constitution, the rule of law, and our public lands." This seems to mean all the decisions Pendley made-- like the land use plan he approved in Montana-- are illegitimate, null and void. The reason Trump hasn't pushed to get Pendley confirmed is because his policies would have certainly ended the political careers of Steve Daines (R-MT), Cory Gardner (R-CO), Dan Sullivan (R-AK) and Martha McSally (R-AZ) if they were forced to vote for him. In Montana, for example, he opened 95% of federal land to oil and gas development, despite pleas from the cattle industry.

Former Arizona State Rep Mark Cardenas, an environmentalist and outdoorsman, wrote last week about the danger Pendley poses for the country-- and particularly for Arizona and the Grand Canyon, which Pendley has been trying to turn into a mining site. Cardenas wrote that "Pendley is an ardent advocate for the disposal and sell-off of public lands. By allowing him to continue leading the Bureau of Land Mannagement, the Trump administration has made it clear that even during a pandemic they will continue to prioritize boosting industry profits over protecting our communities’ health and iconic landmarks like the Grand Canyon from harmful uranium mining."

Growing up in Arizona, I spent many weekends with my family hiking and camping around the Grand Canyon, providing us a respite from our urban neighborhood. I have seen firsthand the value public lands and national parks bring to a young person. And as a veteran, my connection to our public lands has only grown deeper. I believe it is a patriotic duty to protect America’s outdoors, especially now when families are turning to our parks for solace. I want to ensure that this appreciation of our natural resources extends into future generations, but for that to happen we need responsible leadership. The Trump administration withdrew their nomination because it was impossible to ignore that Pendley’s bigotry and extreme record on public lands make him unfit to lead the BLM. Now, the administration must end this charade and remove Pendley entirely, once and for all.

Access to clean drinking water, protection from uranium exposure, and the freedom to explore safe and protected public lands must be our elected officials’ top priority. Senator Kyrsten Sinema, who opposed Pendley’s nomination and has demanded he be removed, is working with local stakeholders and tribal nations to permanently ban mining and put Arizonans first. Unfortunately, our other senator-- Martha McSally-- has not committed to supporting this important effort nor has she called for the removal of William Perry Pendley. Senator McSally, will you step up to prioritize Arizonans’ interests, or will you let the administration destroy our treasured landscape?

Our leaders at the federal level should be focused on protecting public health, plain and simple. Arizonans cannot afford to go through another battle with uranium mining, and we deserve a BLM director who will protect our public lands and put our well-being above that of fossil fuel CEOs. By withdrawing Pendley’s nomination, the Trump administration proved that his extremist, anti-public lands agenda was unconfirmable. He should not now be allowed to serve, presumably illegally, anymore. Pendley must go.