Senate Republicans are reigniting a contentious plan to divest millions of acres of federal lands as part of President Trump's extensive tax and spending bill, positioning themselves for a robust internal debate. The draft legislation, announced by the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, requires the Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Forest Service to identify and sell between 2.2 million and 3.3 million acres of public land across 11 Western states. These lands are intended for housing developments.
Past initiatives to sell off public land have incited backlash from conservationists while also causing friction among Republican lawmakers. For instance, a more modest proposal to auction off approximately 500,000 acres in Utah and Nevada was previously eliminated from the House version of the tax bill after notable objections from Representative Ryan Zinke, a Montana Republican and former interior secretary. Zinke expressed crisp discontent with such sales, describing it as a momentous issue, saying, “This was my San Juan Hill; I do not support the widespread sale or transfer of public lands. Once the land is sold, we will never get it back.”
The latest proposal seeks to amass up to $10 billion within the next five years through land sales targeting housing projects in states including Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. Notably, Montana, Zinke's home state, is absent from this list.
Senator Mike Lee, the Utah Republican who heads the energy committee, argued that the measure would convert “federal liabilities into taxpayer value” while purportedly making housing more accessible for American families looking for affordable options.
