Ian Brickey, ian.brickey@sierraclub.org
WASHINGTON, D.C. – On Thursday, the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources will hold a hearing on Donald Trump’s nomination of an oil and gas lobbyist to manage 245 million acres of the country’s public lands.
The committee will hear testimony from Kathleen Sgamma, who was nominated in February to take the reins at the Bureau of Land Management. A long-time oil and gas lobbyist, Sgamma is the president of the Western Energy Alliance, an industry trade group that has sought to greatly expand oil and gas drilling on public lands.
Sgamma’s nomination to lead BLM is the latest signal that the Trump administration views billionaires and corporations as the primary beneficiaries of public lands. Sgamma contributed to the notorious Project 2025, the right-wing playbook Trump has used to attack federal institutions, chaotically fire staff, and slash departmental budgets. Trump’s own cabinet officials have referred to public lands as monetary “assets,” and some administration allies have floated the idea of selling off public lands to fund tax cuts for the wealthy.
In response, Athan Manuel, director of Sierra Club’s Lands Protection Program, released the following statement:
“With Donald Trump back in the White House, Big Oil CEOs got home field advantage, and now he wants to let them ref their own game.
“From campaign trail promises to corporate polluters to Day One giveaways to oil and gas companies, Trump has made it clear America’s public lands are up for grabs. He sees them as assets to sell to fund tax breaks for billionaires. These landscapes make this country great, and they belong to we the people. The American people should not tolerate this giveaway.”
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.