Mike Lee says he’ll scale back public land sale as proposal hits roadblock in Senate

Utah Sen. Mike Lee said changes are coming to his proposed public land sale, which is currently facing a roadblock after the Senate Parliamentarian rejected it Monday evening. 

For weeks, controversy has simmered over Lee’s attempt to include mandatory public land sales in Congress’ budget bill, nicknamed the “big, beautiful bill.” Lee’s proposal would require the Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Forest Service to each dispose of 0.5% to 0.75% of their land across 11 Western states — that’s roughly between 2.2 million to 3.3 million acres. 

Lee said the land sale is designed to help Western communities manage growth, and the parcels should be used for housing. But critics from all political backgrounds have come out in staunch opposition, noting that there’s no mandate requiring the land be used for housing. Plus, according to the bill text, more than 258 million acres would be eligible for sale, including 18.7 million acres in Utah. 

Changes to Senate Republicans’ budget proposal means even more Utah public land could be sold

But in a social media post Monday night, Lee said he now wants to eliminate forest service land from the proposal, writing, “We are NOT selling off our forests.” He also said he would “significantly reduce” the amount of Bureau of Land Management land for sale by including a provision that requires eligible parcels to be within five miles of a “population center.” 

Lee also said he would include “freedom zones” to ensure the land benefits American families, and that the bill would “protect our farmers, ranchers and recreational users. They come first.” Lee did not elaborate in his social media post. 

Lee has been hinting at a change for several days, acknowledging the flurry of criticism. Hundreds of conservation, environmental, hunter and angler groups have come out against his proposal — Lee has even suggested there’s a well-funded opposition campaign targeting his bill, writing on X, “How much money do you think has been spent on this campaign against my lands bill?” 

The proposed change comes as Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough rejected a number of items proposed by Senate Republicans. The parliamentarian is a nonpartisan, unelected adviser to the Senate who ensures the body doesn’t stray from their rules during budget reconciliation — that includes enforcing the Byrd Rule, which requires that reconciliation bills stay focused on fiscal issues. 

Anything considered nonbudgetary could be subjected to a point-of-order, which is what happened to Lee’s public land sale proposal on Monday evening. 

Per Senate rules, Lee’s provision would require a minimum of 60 votes — rather than a simple majority — otherwise it would be subjected to a point-of-order objection. 

Lee’s public land sale is one of seven proposals from the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources that the parliamentarian says goes against the Byrd Rule. 

A number of public land advocacy groups expressed cautious optimism on Tuesday in response to MacDonough’s announcement. 

“This is a significant win for public lands. Thankfully, the Senate Parliamentarian has seen Senator Lee’s ridiculous attempt to sell off millions of acres of public lands for what it is — an ideological crusade against public lands, not a serious proposal to raise revenue for the federal government,” said Jennifer Rokala, executive director for the Center for Western Priorities. 

The Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance highlighted the “nationwide backlash” sparked by Lee’s proposal. 

“While we’re glad to see the sell-off plan removed from the Budget Bill, we know Lee’s underlying goal remains the same: to sell off America’s public lands using any excuse or legislative opportunity he can find,” said Scott Braden, the group’s executive director. 

And the Center for Biological Diversity said that while Lee’s proposal may be caught up in Senate rules, they expect similar attempts from the senior Utah Republican. 

“His legislation was always about destroying public lands anywhere and everywhere, privatizing cherished recreation destinations and locking away these beautiful places for the ultra-rich. No one should believe his lies now, and any backroom deals to rewrite his legislation will still be a disaster for public lands,” said Laiken Jordahl with the center. 

On Tuesday, the group Vet Voice Foundation, a military veteran advocacy group, hosted a virtual town hall where veterans and policy experts spoke against Lee’s proposal. Lee was invited to join the discussion but did not attend, and the group displayed a symbolic empty chair in his place. 

Among the speakers was New Mexico Democrat Rep. Gabe Vasquez, who helped form the Public Lands Caucus with Montana Republican Rep. Ryan Zinke. 

The caucus’ first order of business was to sink a proposal from Utah Rep. Celeste Maloy, a Republican, who identified roughly 11,500 acres of federal land in southwestern Utah to sell to St. George, Washington and Beaver Counties, and the Washington County Water Conservancy District. 

“We were able to successfully kill that provision in the House only to see it come back from the dead in true zombie fashion, more powerful and uglier, in this proposal from Sen. Lee,” said Vasquez. “I’ve worked on a lot of conservation campaigns. I have not seen conservationists from every stripe come together more — Republicans and Democrats, anglers and birders, RVers and mountain bikers — to protect this special resource.” 

Vasquez warned Lee, and any other politician eying a public land sale, that the newly-formed caucus will be a roadblock. 

“Folks should know whenever they bring these proposals forward, especially in the House, that they’re going to have to go up against the caucus,” he said.