WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Jacky Rosen (D-NV) joined Senator Martin Heinrich (D-NM) and the entire Democratic Caucus in a letter to U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) Secretary David Bernhardt urging him to remove William Perry Pendley from his position leading the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). In the letter, the Senators also call on the President to nominate a qualified director for consideration through the regular confirmation process.
“We are pleased to hear that the President has decided to withdraw Mr. William Perry Pendley’s nomination to be director of the Bureau of Land Management. We have grave concerns, however, with reports that Mr. Pendley will continue to lead the bureau through his current position as deputy director, exercising the authority of the director,” wrote the Senators. “For the same reasons that Mr. Pendley is unfit to be confirmed as director, he is unfit to exercise the authority of the director without being confirmed, and we ask that you remove Mr. Pendley from this position. We also call on the President to nominate a qualified director for consideration through the regular confirmation process.”
BACKGROUND: Approximately 67 percent of the state of Nevada – roughly 48 million acres – is managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM).
Earlier this month, Senator Rosen joined Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Senator Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Ranking Member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Joe Manchin (D-WV) and the entire Democratic Caucus in a letter to President Trump opposing BLM Director nominee William Perry Pendley.
Last month, Senator Rosen joined a letter led by Senator Jon Tester (D-MT) calling for an expedited Senate confirmation hearing for William Perry Pendley, who was installed as the de facto acting director of the BLM nearly a year ago without a confirmation hearing or vote. The letter highlights Pendley’s history of hostility toward the public lands he now oversees, and urges the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee to expedite the confirmation hearing so Pendley can answer in-person for his troubling record of anti-public lands advocacy before the American public.
Additionally, Senator Rosen joined Senator Tester in a press call highlighting Pendley’s troubling record and calling for an expedited hearing so the public can see how unfit he is for this nomination.
The Senators’ full letter can be found here and below:
Dear Secretary Bernhardt:
We are pleased to hear that the President has decided to withdraw Mr. William Perry Pendley’s nomination to be director of the Bureau of Land Management. We have grave concerns, however, with reports that Mr. Pendley will continue to lead the bureau through his current position as deputy director, exercising the authority of the director. For the same reasons that Mr. Pendley is unfit to be confirmed as director, he is unfit to exercise the authority of the director without being confirmed, and we ask that you remove Mr. Pendley from this position. We also call on the President to nominate a qualified director for consideration through the regular confirmation process.
Mr. Pendley’s long public record of advocacy for selling off public lands and reducing access to them, attempts to undermine tribes and tribal sovereignty, and denial of climate change make his beliefs and actions antithetical to either role. His role in the mismanagement of public assets during his first tenure at the Department of the Interior raises serious questions about his fitness for any federal position. The Bureau of Land Management requires a qualified leader who supports public lands and the bureau’s critical role in administering them for the American people.
We urge you to remove Mr. Pendley from his position leading the Bureau of Land Management.
Sincerely,
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