U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich, the Ranking Member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, voiced concerns during a committee hearing regarding President Trump’s nominee for Director of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Steve Pearce. Pearce, a former Congressman from New Mexico, has previously supported selling off public lands and opposed national monument designations.
Heinrich referenced federal law in his remarks: “The Federal Land Policy and Management Act says that our public lands are to be retained in Federal ownership and managed to best meet the present and future needs of the American people, and where appropriate, preserved and protected in their natural condition, without permanent impairment.” He added, “They belong to the public—not to any special interest, but to the American people. And not to our generation alone, but to future generations as well.”
Discussing Pearce’s record further, Heinrich stated: “Unfortunately, many of the positions [Pearce] has taken and the statements he has made about selling off public lands make it hard for me to believe that he will be a good steward of our public lands and that he will faithfully uphold the public land protections written into our laws.”
In addition to Pearce’s nomination for BLM Director, the committee considered nominations for Kyle Haustveit as Under Secretary at the Department of Energy and David LaCerte as Commissioner at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
Heinrich emphasized that while it is within the President’s authority to nominate candidates for these roles, it remains the committee’s responsibility to evaluate their qualifications. He described oversight of public lands as one of Congress's foremost duties and noted reliance on dedicated civil servants at BLM.
“Our hearing today is Congressman Pearce’s opportunity to make his case for his nomination and to share his vision of how he would manage the public lands if confirmed, and to allay our concerns,” Heinrich said.
