Five House Republicans are breaking ranks with their party over a massive GOP legislative package, threatening to vote it down unless it drops a controversial proposal to sell off large portions of public land. The lawmakers argue that the federal land sell-off would be a betrayal of conservative conservation values. In their view, handing over national lands to private interests not only risks environmental harm but also alienates voters who rely on those lands for recreation, grazing, and tourism.
GOP Reps. Ryan Zinke (Mont.), Mike Simpson (Idaho), Dan Newhouse (Wash.), Cliff Bentz (Ore.), and David Valadao (CA) have openly expressed their opposition to their party’s tax and spending bill over provisions in the Senate version that would mandate the sale of two million acres of land owned by the federal government to the general public.
“We support the OB3 passed by the House and generally accept changes to the bill that may be made by the Senate. However, we cannot accept the sale of federal lands that Senator [Mike] Lee seeks,” the lawmakers wrote in a letter addressed to House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.). “If a provision to sell public lands is in the bill that reaches the House