Overview
- The White House sent Pearce’s nomination to the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee for consideration.
- Western Republicans, including Sens. Cynthia Lummis and Steve Daines, praised the pick, while conservation groups such as the Sierra Club and Center for Western Priorities urged rejection.
- Pearce has backed expanded oil and gas development, opposed enlarging national monuments, and supported efforts to limit the Antiquities Act.
- The Bureau of Land Management oversees about 245 million acres of public land and roughly 700 million acres of subsurface minerals, making the director influential on energy and land-use decisions.
- The nomination follows the withdrawal of Trump’s earlier pick, Kathleen Sgamma, after past comments critical of Trump’s response to Jan. 6 came to light.