WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, late Saturday dropped his bid to sell public lands for housing.
But President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans are still on the defensive over their signature legislation, in which Lee had inserted the language.
The bill is called the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
Lee’s provision had drawn significant bipartisan opposition, a rarity in the nation’s capital. Meanwhile, the bill itself still faces serious headwinds even without Lee’s plan.
Lee announced in a statement at 9:24 p.m. ET that he would withdraw the language but remained defiant.
"I continue to believe the federal government owns far too much land —land it is mismanaging and in many cases ruining for the next generation," he said.
“Under Democratic presidents, massive swaths of the West are being locked away from the people who live there, with no meaningful recourse,” added Lee.
Soon after, the massive tax and spending package advanced 51-49 but still faces headwinds in the Senate before a final vote by that chamber.
U.S. Sen. Jim Risch, R-Idaho, touted Lee’s turnaround.
“Senator Lee has withdrawn the sale of public lands provision. The people of Idaho have been clear—we do NOT support the sale of our public lands to the highest bidder. I am proud to help lead the effort to remove this provision from the One Big Beautiful Bill,” he said.
Republicans in the House had previously threatened to tank the entire legislation over Lee’s proposal.
U.S. Sen. Steve Daines, R-Montana, had vowed to use an amendment to kill it as well.
The House passed the bill in May by a single vote, 215-214, and the Senate has since changed it.
In the end, both chambers must agree on identical language before Trump gets the multitrillion-dollar tax and spending package.
The Senate advanced it 51-49 without Lee’s provision. But this is not a final Senate vote.
Wyoming Reaction
State Rep. Karlee Provenza, D-Laramie, was among the plan's fiercest critics, and organized a protest rally to which about 500 attendees from across the political spectrum flocked Thursday evening in Cheyenne.
"I’m grateful that we can all rest a little easier tonight knowing that our public lands are not being ripped away from us in the reconciliation bill," Provenza told Cowboy State Daily in a Saturday text message.
"However, the lack of leadership from our federal delegation on protecting our public lands is still concerning and there’s more work to be done to ensure that our public lands remain in public hands for generations to come," she wrote.
"Public lands are Wyoming’s heart and soul and the people of this great state deserve leaders who will do more to preserve that heritage for future generations."
Corner-Crossing Champ
Ryan Semerad, the winning attorney in the well-known corner crossing case in which hunters ladder-vaulted a corner of private land to access public land, celebrated the plan’s cancellation Saturday evening.
“The dire need to kill public lands has always been greatly exaggerated,” wrote Semerad in a text message comment. “It’s too bad it took this long to see that. And it’s doubly bad Wyoming’s delegation in Washington have subscribed to the tall tale that these lands have no purpose and mean nothing.”
For now, he added, “and despite the efforts of our representatives in Congress to the contrary, this is a triumph for Wyoming and her people.”
Sean Barry can be reached at sean@cowboystatedaily.com and Clair McFarland can be reached at clair@cowboystatedaily.com.
