(The Hill) Before its passing late Saturday, the Senate removed a controversial provision from its megabill that would have sold off hundreds of thousands of acres of public lands.
Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), who was leading the push on the measure, announced late Saturday that the measure would be stripped from the bill.
“Because of the strict constraints of the budget reconciliation process, I was unable to secure clear, enforceable safeguards to guarantee that these lands would be sold only to American families – not to China, not to Blackrock and not to any foreign interests,” Lee said in a post on X.
“For that reason, I’ve decided to withdraw the federal land sales provision from the bill,” he added.
Lee had initially proposed selling off between 2.2 million and 3.3 million acres of public lands. After that proposal was rejected by the Senate parliamentarian, he put forward a new measure that would have sold off between 600,000 and 1.2 million acres.
But, the Utah Republican indicated in his post on Saturday that he would work with President Donald Trump to find uses for what he described as “underutilized” lands.
“President Trump promised to put underutilized federal land to work for American families, and I look forward to helping him achieve that in a way that respects the legacy of our public lands and reflects the values of people who use them most,” he wrote.
While the measure had some GOP support, it also received pushback from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.
Opponents included a group of five House Republicans who said they would vote no if the final bill contained the measure.
Those who did oppose the public land sales cheered once its removal was announced.
“Today is a major victory for our public lands. Thank YOU for your incredible outpouring in defense of our American birthright. Because of you, the lands that we cherish will remain OURS,” said Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) in a post of his own.
“And to those already plotting to go after our public lands another way: Don’t. Unless you like losing,” he added.
With a 51-49 vote, Senate Republicans were able to narrowly advance the sprawling, 1,000-page bill to enact Trump’s agenda late Saturday despite the opposition of two GOP lawmakers.
The Hill’s Alexander Bolton contributed to this report.
