Editor's note: This updates Sen. Lee's decision to withdraw his measure.
U.S. Sen. Mike Lee of Utah announced Saturday evening that he would withdraw his measure calling for the sale of as much as 1.2 million acres of public lands.
The Republican said he decided to because he was "unable to secure clear, enforceable safeguards to guarantee that these lands would be sold only to American families — not to China, not to Blackrock, and not to any foreign interests."
At the same time, the senator said he remained convinced that the federal government owns too much land and "is mismanaging and in many cases ruining for the next generation."
Prior to Lee's announcement, Republicans in both the Senate and the House were lining up against his measure.
Senators Steve Daines and Tim Sheehy from Montana said they would push an amendment to remove Lee's measure from the budget reconciliation bill.
“I oppose the sale of public lands and will vote no on the motion to proceed if it is included,” Sheehy posted on social media Saturday afternoon.
Senators Mike Crapo and Jim Risch of Idaho both also said they were opposed to the land sales.
Over in the House, meanwhile, Reps. Ryan Zinke (R-MT), Mike Simpson (R-ID), Cliff Bentz (R-OR), David Valadao (R-CA), and Dan Newhouse (R-WA) said they'd vote no to the Senate's version of the bill if Lee’s provision made it through. Reps. Kevin Kiley (R-CA), Jay Obernolte (R-CA), Ken Calvert (R-CA) and Jeff Hurd (R-CO) also had said they'd vote against the Senate's version of the reconciliation bill if it arrives back in the House with Lee's measure.
The original land sales proposal floated by Lee was tagged by the Senate parliamentarian for removal from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act because it didn't comply with the Byrd Rule, which requires that amendments to the reconciliation measure be directly tied to implementing budget resolution policies. Lee had revised his measure, restricting sales to Bureau of Land Management areas in the West, requiring that they're specific to housing projects or associated infrastructure, and requiring the acres put up for auction to be within five miles of a population center. Previously he had included national forest lands.
The revision also restricted sales to between 612,500 and 1.2 million acres and requires that governors, local governments, and tribal officials be consulted on the proposed sales.
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