Senate Parliamentarian Removes Public Land Sales From GOP Megabill (For Now)

The fight for public lands is far from over

Last night, Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough ruled against several provisions in the Senate GOP’s megabill related to public lands, including Senator Mike Lee’s (R-UT) attempt to sell between 2.2 and 3.3 million acres of public lands managed by the U.S. Forest Service (USFW) and Bureau of Land Management (BLM).

This decision was first announced in a press release by the Democrats of the Senate Budget Committee.

In the release, Ranking Member Jeff Merkley (D-OR) said that Democrats “will not stand idly by while Republicans attempt to circumvent the rules of reconciliation in order to sell off public lands to fund tax breaks for billionaires. We will make sure the Byrd Rule is followed and review any changes Republicans attempt to make to the bill.”

Senate Parliamentarian Rules Against Public Land Sales And Other Environmental Provisions

Concretely, the following things—related to the environment and public lands—have been ruled out of the so-called “One Big Beautiful Bill” by the Senate Parliamentarian:

• NEPA compliance. These provisions deem offshore oil and gas projects as automatically compliant with the National Environmental Policy Act, nullifying these projects’ environmental review processes. (Subsection 102(b)(4) and Subsection 102(b)(5))

• Offshore oil and gas leasing. This subsection requires leases to be issued to successful bidders within 90 days after the lease sale. (Subsection 102(b)(6))

• Ambler Road. This section requires the Secretary of the Interior to permit construction of Ambler Road, a controversial mining road in Alaska. (Section 201)

• Mandatory public land sales. This section mandates the unprecedented sale of millions of acres of public land, including from both Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Forest Service lands. (Section 301)

• Renewable energy fees. This subsection removes the Secretary of the Interior’s discretion to reduce fees for solar and wind projects on Bureau of Land Management land. (Subsection 303(e))

• Geothermal leasing and royalties. These sections require the Secretary of the Interior to hold yearly geothermal lease sales and purport to change how geothermal royalties are calculated. (Section 305 and Section 306)

• Natural gas exports and imports. This section creates a pay-to-play regime for natural gas exports, allowing natural gas exporters to pay a fee to have their project be deemed “in the public interest,” which is a requirement for approval. (Section 401)

Still Under Review

The following environmental provisions of the “One Big Beautiful Bill,” which—while still massive—continues to get less and less “big,” are currently still under review:

• Offshore oil and gas leasing. This section would require that 90 percent of the revenue from lease sales in the Cook Inlet go to the state of Alaska, starting in 2035, the year after the ten-year budget window. (Section 102(b)(2))

• National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska. This section would require oil and gas lease sales in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska. (Section 105)

• Coal leasing. This section would require the Secretary of the Interior to approve new coal lease applications, and any additional approvals needed to mine previously issued coal leases within 90 days of receipt. (Section 202)

The Byrd Rule

The Senate Republicans are trying to push their megabill through via a process called budget reconciliation, which means they’d need only a simple majority (51 votes) to pass budget-related measures.

(The normal budget process requires a majority of 60 votes to break a filibuster, which they know they’ll never get for Trump’s bill.)

However, because the Republicans are using the budget reconciliation process, anything that’s actually in the bill must be budget-related. This is called the Byrd Rule, named after Senator Robert Byrd of West Virginia.

The Senate Parliamentarian is the person who looks at all provisions and determines whether or not they pass the Byrd Rule’s requirements.

And for obvious reasons, selling public lands for housing development is in no way directly related to balancing a federal budget.

So, it’s out, as are most other provisions related to the environment—for now.

Overwhelming Bipartisan Opposition to Mike Lee’s Public Land Sales Bill

The removal of Mike Lee’s attempt to sell of million of acres of public lands in eleven western states is huge. But let’s not celebrate it as a victory quite yet.

Let’s not forget that, in this specific case, it was the budget reconciliation process that undid Mike Lee’s public land sales bill—it was not the opposition of any Republican Senators, even though that did and does exist to a certain extent.

In fact, because of this ruling—for the time being—all Senate Republicans got away with not actually having to take an official stand. They did not have to go on record and vote on these public land sales. Yet.

By no means is this fight over. It’s far from over. It will never be over, in fact.

Rather the contrary—now is not the time to step on the brakes. This is when we push the gas pedal in even further.

And this is why.

Also last night, minutes before the Senate Parliamentarian issued her ruling, Mike Lee posted on X (formerly known as Twitter) that he intends to drastically “change” his bill.

Let’s not be fooled by this.

Mike Lee still wants to put public lands in private hands. He’ll never stop trying.

While Forest Service land will be removed from his bill, it still leaves public lands within five miles from towns and cities available for sale to developers.

That’s often land that’s most easily accessible to folks who want to walk their dog, go for a quick sunset hike near their home, spend some time connecting with nature and watching wildlife, or simply find a bit of peace and quiet after a busy day.

Also, what the hell are “FREEDOM ZONES?”

Make no mistake—once again, Mike Lee said nothing about affordable housing. Not a word. Don’t ever forget that he’s backed by oil and gas companies and real estate developers. That’s where his true allegiance lies.

Let’s also emphasize that Mike Lee is scared.

After swift, severe, and sustained backlash from the entire outdoor community, of all political colors—hunters, anglers, hikers, campers, photographers, RVers, mountain bikers, paddlers—he now fully realizes the peril his political future is in.

Mike Lee finally feels how huge the self-inflicted gunshot wound in his own foot actually is.

Even though he says he’s making “changes,” he still very much intends to sell our public lands. And we’re all watching. We’re watching more closely than ever.

We’re not backing down. And we won’t forget. People are pissed off, and everyone is paying attention now.

“Mike Lee doesn’t get to apologize. This is his bag of shit that he brought to the table. He doesn’t get to go, ‘Oops, I didn’t know it was shit.’ He’s been trying this for a long time. We’ve got to stop it. It’s only going to stop if you stand up and scream louder than ever right now. Call your senators. Tell them, no compromise. No public land sales in the budget reconciliation process. We have some momentum. Keep the gas pedal down.” - Ryan “Cal” Callaghan, Director of Conservation at Meateater

“You can’t make this language better. Together we will burn this thing to the ground the way it needs to be done.” - Land Tawney, Co-Chair of American Hunters & Anglers

Mike Lee will certainly try to put another version of his public land sales bill into the budget reconciliation process—this time with language that might actually pass the Byrd Rule.

And then—then—it will be time for Republican Senators to show their colors. To show if they’re with the outdoor community, or against. If they’re for public lands, or for industry.

And that is why now is the time to keep calling and emailing your senators.

We’ve got momentum.

We’ve got the ears and eyes of Washington, D.C. politicians—many of whom, by the way, are also furious at Mike Lee for even trying to distract from other parts of Trump’s bill.

Let’s keep flooding their inboxes.

Easy Ways to Help Protect Our Public Lands

There are a number of easy and convenient ways to voice your opposition to the selling of public lands:

• Call your senator at 202-224-3121.

• Contact your senator via 5calls.org.

• Fill out the “Stop the Senate’s Plan to Sell Off Public Lands” form provided by Outdoor Alliance.