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Yahoo
10-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump Pick To Lead Interior Agency Bails After Jan. 6 Criticism Surfaces
Kathleen Sgamma, President Donald Trump's pick to lead the Bureau of Land Management, withdrew her nomination on Thursday, days after a watchdog group uncovered a memo in which Sgamma appeared to strongly criticize the violence at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Investigative reporters at Documented published a memo on Tuesday that they say Sgamma, who heads the Western Energy Alliance, wrote and sent to special members of the alliance, just a day after the Capitol attack. WEA is a lobbying firm that represents hundreds of oil and gas companies. 'I don't usually bother you with reactions to major events shaping the country and world because there is plenty of coverage on those… However, the events yesterday at the Capitol were so shocking that our policy engagement with and PAC support for the Trump administration compels me to speak up,' the Jan. 7 memo began. 'I am disgusted by the violence witnessed yesterday and President Trump's role in spreading misinformation that incited it.' Sgamma wrote she was also 'disgusted' that Trump had 'discredited all the good work he did reorienting the judiciary back toward respect for the rule of law and constitution by dishonoring the vote of the People and the rulings of those very same judges on his numerous challenges' to the 2020 election results.' The memo continued, 'But I also see hope after hitting rock bottom as a country.' The Bureau of Land Management oversees federal land development throughout the U.S. It covers nearly 300 million acres. Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), the chair of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, announced Sgamma's withdrawal shortly before she was set to have a nomination hearing before the committee. He did not specify why Sgamma pulled herself out of the running. In a statement to the committee, Sgamma said it had been an honor to be considered and that she would 'continue to support President Trump and fight for his agenda to Unleash American Energy in the private sector.' Sgamma is no stranger to the Trump administration's 'drill-baby-drill' mission: As HuffPost reported last April, she wrote an entire chapter for the Heritage Foundation's Project 2025 about expanding energy production on federal lands. Sgamma and the Western Energy Alliance did not immediately respond to requests for comment Thursday. It is not yet clear who will be nominated in her place. 'As a Senator from a state where the federal government owns nearly 70% of the land, I know just how consequential the BLM's decisions are,' Lee said in a statement to HuffPost. 'The agency's reach is immense, from issuing grazing permits to overseeing mineral leasing to managing wildfires and recreational access; its work directly impacts millions of Americans — especially in the West — and its leadership matters. I've long said the BLM needs someone at the helm who understands federalism, respects local input, and grasps both the complexity of the agency's mission and the real-world impact of its decisions. I look forward to working with the administration to identify a nominee who meets that standard.' Trump Accidentally Called Former National Security Adviser He Fired: Report Bernie Sanders Calls Out Trump's Bogus Social Security Claim: 'It's Just Another Lie' A TikTok Deal Seemed Close. Then Trump Announced Staggering Tariffs On Chinese Goods.
Yahoo
10-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump's pick to lead Bureau of Land Management withdraws
President Donald Trump's choice to lead the nation's largest land manager has withdrawn her name from consideration during the confirmation hearing on Thursday. Kathleen Sgamma, an oil and gas lobbyist, had been picked to head the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), which oversees roughly 247 million acres of federal land. The agency is critical, particularly in rural swaths of the country, given it leases parcels for livestock grazing, issues permits for mining and manages lands used for recreation. "It was an honor to be nominated by President Trump... but unfortunately at this time I need to withdraw my nomination," Sgamma, who previously served as president of the Denver-based Western Energy Alliance, said in a statement provided by the White House. "I will continue to support President Trump and fight for his agenda to Unleash American Energy in the private sector." No official reason has been provided for Sgamma's withdrawal by the Trump administration. "We accept her withdrawal and look forward to putting forth another nominee," White House spokesperson, Liz Huston, said Thursday. Trump administration critics, however, were quick to spotlight that Sgamma's extensive experience contrasted with her previous criticism of Trump's refusal to accept the results of the 2020 presidential election. A day after Trump's supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol in 2021, she wrote a memo to alliance members saying she was "disgusted" by the Jan. 6 riot and that Trump had "besmirched" the agencies that worked for him during the first administration. "In Trump's authoritarian universe, the only thing that matters is loyalty, and his nominees must keep their sane instincts private," Alan Zibel, a researcher for Public Citizen, said in a release Thursday. In the memo "In a normal environment, a federal nominee might withdraw for saying something outlandish, controversial or insensitive," Zibel added. "But this nominee appears to have withdrawn for saying something completely obvious – that a violent attack on the U.S. Capitol was morally repugnant." This story will be updated. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump's nominee for largest land manager withdraws from consideration
New York Times
10-04-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
A Champion of Oil Ends Her Bid to the Lead Bureau of Land Management
Kathleen Sgamma, an advocate for oil and gas whom President Trump had tapped to run the Bureau of Land Management, has abruptly withdrawn her nomination, a White House spokeswoman said. Ms. Sgamma had been scheduled to testify on Thursday before the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, which was considering her nomination to oversee the agency. It manages 245 million acres of public land across the United States. At the start of the hearing, Senator Mike Lee, the Utah Republican who leads the committee, announced that Ms. Sgamma had withdrawn but did not elaborate. Liz Huston, a White House spokeswoman, confirmed that Ms. Sgamma had removed herself from consideration but did not offer an explanation. 'We accept her withdrawal and look forward to putting forth another nominee,' Ms. Huston said. Ms. Sgamma worked as president of the Denver-based Western Energy Alliance for nearly 20 years before stepping down this year. In that role, she promoted independent oil and gas companies, which have sought to strip away government protections and expand drilling and mining on public lands in Western states. She opposed virtually every policy aimed at addressing climate change, conserving public lands and protecting biodiversity. This week, the investigative news outlet Documented published a memo it had obtained showing that Ms. Sgamma had criticized President Trump after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. In a memo the day after the attack by supporters of Mr. Trump, Ms. Sgamma wrote to members of the Western Energy Alliance that she was 'disgusted by the violence witnessed yesterday and President Trump's role in spreading misinformation that incited it.' In recent months, applicants for positions in the Trump administration have said they have been asked for their thoughts on Jan. 6 and who they believe won the 2020 election, in what many described as a perceived loyalty test. David Bernhardt, who led the Interior Department during the first Trump administration, suggested on social media on Thursday that the recently publicized memo written by Ms. Sgamma was the reason for her withdrawal. 'Sad,' Mr. Bernhardt wrote on X, with a link to the article about Ms. Sgamma's memo. 'Self-inflicted.' Ms. Sgamma did not respond to a request for comment. The American Petroleum Institute, the oil industry's main lobbying group, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Western Energy Alliance declined to comment. Environmental activists, who had roundly opposed Ms. Sgamma for the role, said they were relieved. 'Good riddance to Sgamma, whose withdrawal is good news for America's public lands and imperiled animals,' Taylor McKinnon, the Southwest director of the Center for Biological Diversity, said. 'There's no doubt that Trump's next nominee will also be a poisonous threat to our wildlife and wild places, but this speed bump gives senators a chance to ponder whether they really want to feed America's public lands and monuments into the snapping jaws of the fracking and mining industries,' he said. Aaron Weiss, the deputy director of the Center for Western Priorities, an environmental nonprofit organization, has criticized Ms. Sgamma for not making public a list of members of the Western Energy Alliance. 'It is ironic, and maybe fitting, if maybe her lack of candor and secrecy is what ultimately did her nomination in with the White House,' Mr. Weiss said.
Axios
10-04-2025
- Politics
- Axios
White House axes land bureau pick after past Jan. 6 criticism
The Trump administration has withdrawn the nomination of Kathleen Sgamma to be director of the Bureau of Land Management, Senate Energy and Natural Resources Chairman Mike Lee said Thursday. Why it matters: The withdrawal of Sgamma, longtime president of the Western Energy Alliance, is a sudden setback for the White House hoping to lean on the land bureau to expand fossil fuel and mining leases. Driving the news: Sgamma was scheduled to testify before Energy and Natural Resources on Thursday alongside two Energy Department nominees. Lee said he was informed just this morning that Sgamma's nomination had been withdrawn. "We accept her withdrawal and look forward to putting forth another nominee," said White House spokesperson Liz Huston. Between the lines: The withdrawal comes two days after Sgamma's private comments from 2021 surfaced on X that she was "disgusted" by Trump "spreading misinformation" on the Jan. 6 attacks and "dishonoring the vote of the People." Sgamma didn't immediately return a call seeking comment. Sgamma contributed to the Interior chapter of Project 2025. Environmental groups vigorously opposed her nomination while industry associates avidly supported it. What they're saying:"I am disappointed that we're not going have the opportunity to advance Kathleen Sgamma," Sen. Lisa Murkowski said. "Looking at her background and working with her over the years on the committee, she is, I think, very well qualified, and we were really counting on her to unlock some of the things that had been stalled out in the previous administration." But Taylor McKinnon of the Center for Biological Diversity said: "There's no doubt that Trump's next nominee will also be a poisonous threat to our wildlife and wild places, but this speed bump gives senators a chance to ponder whether they really want to feed America's public lands and monuments into the snapping jaws of the fracking and mining industries."
Yahoo
10-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Oil advocate withdraws nomination to lead US land bureau
(Reuters) - Oil industry lobbyist Kathleen Sgamma has withdrawn her nomination to lead the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, Senator Mike Lee said at a Senate hearing on Thursday. Sgamma had been scheduled to appear Thursday morning before the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources to consider her nomination, and Lee made the announcement at the start of the hearing. Sgamma later issued a statement through Lee's office that did not give a reason for her withdrawal. "It was an honor to be nominated by President (Donald) Trump as Director of the Bureau of Land Management, but unfortunately at this time I need to withdraw my nomination," Sgamma said. "I will continue to support President Trump and fight for his agenda to Unleash American Energy in the private sector." Sgamma was the longtime head of the Western Energy Alliance, which represents oil and gas companies that operate on federal lands, and had been critical of efforts by the administrations of former Presidents Joe Biden and Barack Obama to set aside public land for conservation instead of opening more acres for energy development. The Western Energy Alliance declined to comment. The BLM is a division of the Interior Department that manages 245 million acres (99 million hectares)of public land, primarily in Western states. The director of the bureau oversees federal leasing programs for oil and gas, mining, grazing and renewable energy development. The BLM is expected to play a key role in implementing Trump's agenda to maximize domestic energy production and mining and slashing government regulations.
