Public Land Sale Axed from ‘Big Beautiful Bill’
Montana's congressional delegation took credit for blocking the sale of public lands and voiced support for the GOP bill now that the controversial provision has been stripped away
By Mariah Thomas
A public land sale provision is out of President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act, clearing a hurdle for the legislation’s passage from Montana’s congressional delegation, who all opposed that sale. Montana’s two senators and Rep. Ryan Zinke released statements Sunday celebrating the public land sale’s axing from the bill and sharing their intents to support it.
“Public lands belong in public hands,” said a joint statement from Montana Sens. Steve Daines and Tim Sheehy. “Blocking the sale of public lands is a victory for our Montana way of life.”
A provision to sell off public lands originated in the House version of the bill, with a proposal to sell 500,000 acres in Nevada and Utah.
Zinke led the charge against that sale in the House. He gathered a group of what he referred to as “rough riders” in a successful bipartisan coalition to put that provision on the chopping block.
Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, revived a land selloff in the Senate.
Lee first proposed a selloff of between 0.5% and 0.75% of Bureau of Land Management and National Forest System lands across 11 Western states. After that proposal was nixed by the Senate parliamentarian, Lee came back to the table with a scaled-back version. It proposed cutting National Forest System land from the bill and reducing the amount of BLM land eligible for sale.
Four Republican senators — Montana’s Daines and Sheehy, and Idaho’s Mike Crapo and Jim Risch — publicly opposed the provision. Five GOP House members, including Zinke, also released a letter last Thursday promising a vote against the bill if it included the selloff.
It was stripped from the bill Saturday as debate on the bill in the Senate began this weekend.
Zinke celebrated the land selloff being stripped from the bill. He stated Teddy Roosevelt, a president best known for his conservation efforts, would be proud. Zinke also referenced his background as a Navy SEAL, stating the lessons he learned there played a crucial role in his efforts against the provision.
“The SEALs taught me to never quit and to always rely on my teammates,” a statement from Zinke read. “Both were keys to our public lands victory. We always had backup plans, and we had the greatest coalition of support I’ve seen. Public lands are not red or blue, they are red, white and blue. They belong to all of us whether we’re from Massachusetts or Montana.”
The Senate started voting on the legislation Monday. It must go through a process known as “vote-a-rama” where senators argue for and against amendments to the bill.
It still faces an uphill battle. Republican senators from other states have raised concerns about several aspects of the legislation, ranging from Medicaid cuts to debt increases. If GOP legislators are to pass the bill, they can only afford to lose three votes from their own caucus. Two — Sen. Thom Tillis, R-North Carolina and Sen. Rand Paul, R-Kentucky — are expected to oppose the bill. How a handful of others will vote remains a question.
Montana’s senators, however, seem to be in favor.
“We look forward to the final passage of the Big Beautiful Bill in order to prevent the largest tax increase in American history, secure the border, unleash American energy, and most importantly, implement President Trump’s America First agenda that Montanans — and folks across the country — overwhelmingly support and sent us here to enact,” Daines and Sheehy said.
Should the bill pass in the Senate, it would go back to the House for a final vote. Zinke’s statement said he planned to vote yes on the Big Beautiful Bill once it returns to the House. President Trump hopes to pass the bill by a July 4 deadline.