Overview

• Sen. Mike Lee formally removed his public lands sale provision from the Senate’s budget reconciliation package on June 29, eliminating any mandate for federal land disposals.
• The revised proposal had directed the Interior Department to offer 0.25 percent–0.50 percent of BLM acreage near existing development for housing projects.
• Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough ruled the original sale language out of order under the Byrd Rule, prompting successive rewrites and eventual withdrawal.
• Five House Republicans and at least four Senate GOP members threatened to oppose the reconciliation bill over the land-sale clause, creating a rare intra-party split.
• With the contentious provision dropped, Senate leaders are racing to finalize the “One Big Beautiful Bill” for a vote in early July as debates over public land management and housing affordability continue.