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Aaron Weiss, deputy director of the Center for Western Priorities, explains, “If this case becomes a template in other districts, then it would follow that all other land use plans that have been approved during Pendley’s illegal tenure could also get thrown out.” Weiss predicts that if that happens, it could eliminate “all of the planning work BLM has finalized over the last year, possibly longer.”
The Big Picture: This has greater implications outside the Bureau of Land Management; the Trump administration has not officially nominated people to fill 133 out of 750 positions that require Senate approval. The precedent set by Pendley’s departure could result in similar scrapping of plans in many other government agencies. Max Stier, president of the Partnership for Public Service believes that there are many other instances of acting officials overstepping their authority, “it creates uncertainty across the board and there are many other instances where the same or similar circumstances might exist.”
Critics also say that President Trump can no longer be allowed to get away with unconfirmed appointments. Judge Brian Morris expressed frustration, “The President cannot shelter unconstitutional ‘temporary’ appointments for the duration of his presidency through a matryoshka doll of delegated authorities.” Tracy Stone-Manning, associate vice president for public lands at the National Wildlife Federation said of the potential consequences, “that’s the price the administration pays for not going through the normal process of nominating a director and having that approved by the Senate.”
By Ashira Morris, ODP Staff Writer Late last week, President Biden and a critical mass of Democrats in the Senate and House agreed on the details of Build Back Better legislation — a $1.85 trillion overall investment that includes a record-setting $555 billion dollars to take on the climate crisis. The agreement marked a […]
By Amy Lupica, ODP Daily Editor Top executives from Big Oil companies ExxonMobil, BP, Chevron, and Shell testified before Congress yesterday amid accusations and revelations about their industry’s efforts to mislead the public about human-caused climate change while claiming to be in favor of climate action. A report released Thursday morning by the House Committee […]
By Natasha Lasky, ODP Staff Writer As the world gets ready for COP26 in Glasgow next week, many nations are upping their pledges to lower emissions before 2030. But according to a UN report released Tuesday, even if Argentina, Britain, Canada, the EU, South Africa, and the US achieve their pledged goals, it would account […]
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