DENVER—The U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee today held a confirmation hearing for Steve Pearce, President Donald Trump’s nominee to run the Bureau of Land Management.
During the hearing, Pearce alternately stood by his past words endorsing the wholesale sell-off of public lands while also acknowledging the law currently doesn’t allow it. He also dodged questions about the Trump administration’s energy policy, including whether Interior Secretary Doug Burgum has the power to unilaterally block or slow all renewable energy projects on public land.
The Center for Western Priorities released the following statement from Deputy Director Aaron Weiss:
“Most people would prepare for a job interview beforehand. Steve Pearce claimed he wasn’t up to speed on everything from wind power to methane waste. His ‘I know nothing’ routine should be a red flag to every senator. Pearce even waffled on whether he still believes the many, many things he’s written about land sell-off, and he still has to answer huge questions about his ethical conflicts and businesses.
“Based solely on his feigned ignorance of energy policy, Steve Pearce is unqualified to lead the Bureau of Land Management. His ethics forms are woefully inadequate and leave room for massive conflicts of interest if he is confirmed.”
The full exchange with Sen. Ron Wyden regarding Pearce’s previous statements on land selloff:
Sen. Ron Wyden:
Not long ago, you said with respect to public land located in Western states, and I’m a Westerner, you said, and I quote, ‘most of it we do not even need.’ Now my question to you then is: is there too much public land in the West now, in your view?
Steve Pearce:
The statement made there was when I was represented as a legislative person, a district that was, I think, at odds with federal agencies many times because the management of those lands is sometimes not as well done as it should be. And local people pay the price.
It cost them jobs, it cost them their careers, cost them their land. And so I spoke of those frustrations, but I don’t, as I expressed to Senator Heinrich, I don’t visualize selling large swaths of land.
Wyden:
Well, let’s be clear on this. You no longer agree with the statement you made years ago that I quoted you on? Because people can change their mind, I get that, but do you continue to hold that view, or have you changed your mind about something that — we’re Westerners and we care about these kinds of things. So what’s your—
Pearce:
Senator, I’m not so sure that I’ve changed. I’m not sure that I was not speaking out of sheer frustration with an agency on behalf of the people who are being overwhelmed.
So I do not believe that we’re gonna go out and wholesale land from the federal government. That again, has been stated by the secretary and federal law says that we can’t do that from the BLM itself.