Republican Defends Potential Sale of Million Acres of Public Land

Newsweek

4 hours ago

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Republican Senator Mike Lee has defended his push to include the potential sale of public lands in the party's budget reconciliation bill, arguing that criticism of the idea is misplaced and that the provision is necessary to address the country's housing crisis.
Speaking with conservative podcast host Glenn Beck on Thursday, Lee responded to what he called "falsehoods being circulated by the Left," and said that objections to his proposal failed to grasp its parameters.
"When this bill puts land in the category of eligibility for sale, it doesn't mean for sale," Lee said. "It just means there's a process by which it could be transferred."
Newsweek reached out to Lee's office for comment.
Why It Matters
The plan, which some estimate could put hundreds of millions of acres of public land up for auction, has sparked intense backlash from environmentalist groups and other advocates for the conservation of America's wilderness. Criticism has also come from lawmakers, including from members of Lee's own party, which has already been grappling with internal divisions over other elements of President Donald Trump's "big, beautiful bill."
What To Know
Lee, who chairs the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, has long advocated for making public land under federal stewardship available for housing projects, introducing a bill on the issue in 2022.
He announced his plans to incorporate the provision into the GOP's tax bill last week.
Senator Mike Lee speaks during a Senate Judiciary Committee markup in Washington, D.C., on June 5, 2025.
Senator Mike Lee speaks during a Senate Judiciary Committee markup in Washington, D.C., on June 5, 2025.
Francis Chung/POLITICO via AP Images
According to an updated draft released by his committee, this would direct the secretaries of Agriculture and Interior to "select for disposal" between 0.5 and 0.75 percent of land currently held by the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management across 11 eligible states, equivalent to between two and three million acres.
However, analysis by The Wilderness Society found that more than 250 million acres could be at risk, including 18.7 million acres in Lee's home state of Utah. Lee has called the map released by the group "flat out misleading."
Newsweek reached out to the Wilderness Society via email for comment.
A fact sheet released by Lee's committee last week said that selling off government-owned land would "increase the supply of housing and decrease housing costs for millions of American families," but the proposal has faced intense pushback from environmental groups.
A letter, drafted by Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance and signed by nearly 150 similar organizations, was sent to members of the Senate this week, urging them to oppose the budget reconciliation bill if this provision remains in place.
"We strongly oppose any attempts to recklessly sell public lands through legislative shortcuts like budget reconciliation, which bypass public input, environmental review, and accountability," the letter read. "Doing so threatens public access, undermines responsible land management, puts environmental values, cultural resources, and endangered species at risk along with clean drinking water for 60 million Americans and betrays the public's trust
Jeff Crane, president and CEO of the Congressional Sportsmen's Foundation, told Newsweek that, "for millions of sportsmen and women, federal public lands provide unmatched access for our hunting, fishing, trapping, and recreational shooting traditions."
"This network of lands that belong to all of us is a key component to what makes America unique," Crane said.
Some Republicans, too, have come out in opposition.
A spokesperson for Montana Representative Ryan Zinke, who helped successfully remove a similar but more limited proposal from the House version of the tax bill last month, told The New York Times that he remains "a hard no on any bill that includes the large-scale sale of public lands."
What People Are Saying
Utah Senator Mike Lee, Thursday on The Glenn Beck Program: "The federal government owns 640 million acres of land, nearly a third of all land in the United States. The vast majority of that land has zero recreational value. Disposing of a fraction of 1 percent of that, so that the next generation can afford a home, is a common-sense solution to a national problem."
In an article for Deseret News last year, Lee wrote: "The federal government's stranglehold on the West means our communities can't fully benefit from the lands surrounding them. The inability to access these lands or collect property taxes stifles local economies and strains public services."
The Wilderness Society, in a statement: "The bill directs what is likely the largest single sale of national public lands in modern history to help cut taxes for the richest people in the country. It trades ordinary Americans' access to outdoor recreation for a short-term payoff that disproportionately benefits the privileged and well-connected."
Jeff Crane, president and CEO of the Congressional Sportsmen's Foundation, told Newsweek: "While we are not opposed to the sale of public lands in principle, we do not support the sale of lands through budget reconciliation as there are existing processes in place that we need to leverage to address challenges facing local communities. Without allowing time to properly identify and vet lands set for disposal, critical access for sportsmen and women may be lost."
Travis Hammill, DC director for the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, in a statement: "Senator Lee's never-ending attacks on public lands continue. His hostility stands in stark contrast with Americans' deep and abiding love of public lands. Senator Lee's plan puts Utah's redrock country in the crosshairs of unchecked development."
"Utah and the West, public lands are the envy of the country – but Senator Lee is willing to sacrifice the places where people recreate, where they hunt and fish, and where they make a living – to pay for tax cuts for the ultra-wealthy," he added. "The Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, our members, and our partners will work to defeat this Bill."
What Happens Next
Lee told Beck he believed there was a "very good chance" of the provision being included in the tax bill, which he said the Senate will be considering "as early as next week."
The reconciliation narrowly made it through the House last month. With growing public opposition and a handful of dissenting members within the GOP, the One Big Beautiful Act is on a similarly rocky path before it can move to Trump's desk.