Rep. Ryan Zinke (R-Mont.), a former member of President Donald Trump's Cabinet, has unexpectedly come out strongly against a House amendment to the GOP budget proposal that could permit the sale or transfer of an estimated 500,000 acres of public land in Nevada and Utah.
Zinke's firm resistance to the amendment, shared by some fellow Republicans from Western states, now puts the future of Trump's “big, beautiful” budget bill at risk.
“It’s a no now. It will be a no later. It will be a no forever,” Zinke, who served as the interior secretary in Trump's previous administration, told The Associated Press.
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An article in the New York Times published Friday noted that as interior secretary, Zinke drew criticism from environmental groups for backing the oil and gas sector.
The report highlighted that the amendment, potentially representing the most significant sale of U.S. public lands in recent history, aligns with the agenda of current Interior Secretary Doug Burgum.
In March, Burgum appeared at press event streamed on YouTube alongside Scott Turner, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. “Our federal lands are an incredible asset on America’s balance sheet,” Burgum said. He added that these lands could be used “to solve our nation’s affordable housing crisis.”
"Selling off public lands would assuredly not do this, since all but a tiny fraction are far from cities and lack basic infrastructure. Some of the parcels targeted by the amendment are adjacent to Zion National Park in Utah and are far more likely to be developed for vacation homes," the Times piece said.
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"More fundamentally, Mr. Burgum’s view of the public lands as assets to be exploited is wildly shortsighted and simplistic. It threatens more than a century of progress in one of this country’s most vital and popular shared experiments."
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) had aimed for Republicans to push Trump's "big, beautiful bill" through Congress and onto his desk by Memorial Day. However, internal disagreements among GOP members over the bill’s details have stalled progress, making it unlikely that it will pass by the deadline.
The House Budget Committee voted on the legislation Friday and ultimately rejected it in a 21-16 decision.
Reps. Chip Roy (R-Texas), Andrew Clyde (R-Ga.), Josh Brecheen (R-Okla.), and Lloyd Smucker (R-Penn.) broke ranks and sided with Democrats in opposing the measure.
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