Heinrich Announces Opposition to Steve Pearce, Trump’s Nominee to Lead the Bureau of Land Management

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, released the following statement opposing former Congressman Steve Pearce’s nomination to lead the Bureau of Land Management (BLM): 

“I have known Congressman Pearce a long time. And while I appreciate his testimony before the Energy and Natural Resources Committee last week, I cannot in good faith vote to advance his nomination to serve as our Bureau of Land Management Director. 

“When Congressman Pearce testified, he promised that he would not recommend rolling back national monument designations, which is extremely important to me; and he acknowledged that BLM cannot conduct large-scale sell-offs of public lands under existing law, which is correct. I intend to hold him to these statements.  

“But I also know that commitments to follow the law by prior nominees have proven unreliable. And while Congressman Pearce has said that his past actions opposing national monument designations and calling for public land sell-offs are in his rearview mirror, they remain in the memory of every New Mexican who faced his opposition in order to protect the lands they cherish.

“Like my constituents, I cannot ignore Congressman Pearce’s record. For these reasons, I will be voting ‘no’ on his nomination.”

During his time in Congress, Pearce pushed to sell off public lands, opposed a national monument designation in New Mexico, advocated for downsizing national monuments, and pushed to lock up public lands for corporate interests instead of maintaining them for public use and recreation.

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