House Republicans are stirring up a longstanding over federal public lands.
Last week, the House Natural Resources Committee voted in favor of inserting the Republican tax and spending plan that would allow the sale of public lands in Nevada and Utah. The federal government owns the majority of the land in both states. The provision鈥檚 proponents argue that the sales would raise money for the president鈥檚 tax cuts.
But lawmakers from both parties are concerned.
鈥淵ou could sell the whole West, and it鈥檚 not going to cover even close to the $36 trillion debt,鈥� said Rep. Ryan Zinke, a Republican congressman from Montana who served as interior secretary during President Trump鈥檚 first term.
Zinke formed the bipartisan with New Mexico Democrat Gabe Vasquez after the measure was added to the reconciliation bill.
鈥淟ook, this is not a blue issue or red issue,鈥� said Zinke. 鈥淭his is a red, white and blue issue.鈥�
鈥淓ven though these public lands are in Nevada, they belong to all of us as Americans and I think we cherish our public lands,鈥� he continued. 鈥淏ecause once it鈥檚 developed, it鈥檚 gone.鈥�
House Republicans failed to push the spending bill through a key committee on Friday.
4 Questions for Rep. Ryan Zinke
Washington has been selling federal land for many decades. What is this issue about for you?
鈥淭he fundamental idea that you鈥檙e going to sell public land and somehow that鈥檚 going to pay off or $36 trillion debt is folly. We don鈥檛 have a land problem. I would say we have a management problem. And, you know, I understand the anger out there if you live in Montana or a lot of Utah where you鈥檙e limited on access. But I give the analogy: If you don鈥檛 like the management of a hotel, you don鈥檛 sell the hotel, you get new management.鈥�
The argument is that there鈥檚 not enough affordable housing across the country, but especially in the western United States because communities are growing so quickly and this would allow cities to build more homes. Do you disagree with that argument?
鈥淟et鈥檚 look at housing. You know, 40% of the cost of housing is permitting and infrastructure. That鈥檚 water or sewer. Then you have building materials. Then, of course, you have to have some profit. But land is a very small portion of it. Look, if there鈥檚 a municipality that needs an expansion of their sewer system or a runway or affordable housing, we have done that in the past. We鈥檝e done land exchanges, where it鈥檚 in the best interest of public access and wildlife management.鈥�
You鈥檙e talking about small parcels of land. Let me dial into a specific example. The mayor of that getting 12,000 acres of land on the outskirts of town would be very good for his community. The town wants to become a tech hub. It鈥檚 expected to double in size in the next decade. What happens to cities like Fernley if this plan to sell public land doesn鈥檛 happen?
鈥淭here are places that it would make sense, but there鈥檚 a process to it. As a former secretary, there鈥檚 a process of public comment. You should do archaeology. It should be priced. And in many cases, you should do the sovereign nation consultation. Remember, a lot of this land belonged to one of the tribes. So when you look at the transfer, again, to have it in a bill without public comment, I think is misguided.鈥�
Speaker Mike Johnson cannot afford to lose support for this budget bill. Republicans right now are split on how to raise money for these tax cuts. Is this issue big enough to sink your support for the budget?
鈥淚鈥檝e said definitively that it鈥檚 a red line with me and there鈥檚 a couple of red lines I think that all of us have. One is as a former Navy SEAL officer, and I will not vote against the Constitution of the United States. All my life, I鈥檝e defended it both in service and in the House. So I don鈥檛 vote against the Constitution. And I will not vote for large-scale divesting of public lands when I know how important they are.鈥�
This interview has been lightly edited for clarity.
____
produced and edited this interview for broadcast. Perkins Mastromarino also adapted it for the web.
This article was originally published on
Copyright 2025 WBUR