U.S. Sen. Mike Lee says he’s pulled from the “Big Beautiful Bill” his controversial proposal to sell federal public lands to states and private buyers for new housing developments.
On Saturday morning, a sprawling, 940-page Senate version of President Donald Trump’s signature domestic policy was released that included Lee’s proposal. The bill at that time would have required the Department of the Interior to sell between 0.25% and 0.50% of all land management Bureau of Land Management across 11 Western states, including Utah, to make room for housing development.
But GOP Senators have struggled to find an agreement on the bill overall: Republicans have been fighting to find the votes to pass the bill. Some House Republicans expressed their disapproval of selling federal land. And a ruling from a Senate rules enforcer gave Lee a setback when they said his effort didn’t abide by requirements for budget bills.
So, on Saturday evening, Utah’s senior U.S. senator announced his public lands proposal had met its end.
“Because of the strict constraints of the budget reconciliation process, I was unable to secure clear, enforceable safeguards to guarantee that these lands would be sold only to American families—not to China, not to BlackRock, and not to any foreign interests," Lee posted to social media.
“For that reason, I’ve made the decision to withdraw the federal land sales provision from the bill,” he continued.
Because Republicans in Congress are trying to pass the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” through the budget reconciliation process, only a simple majority is required in the Senate, as opposed to a filibuster-proof majority of 60 votes. Also, all provisions of the bill must be related to the federal budget.
An earlier, more expansive version of Lee’s land sale bill, which included popular hiking trails, ski resorts and backcountry skiing in Utah, was torpedoed by the Senate parliamentarian this week for not passing the “Byrd Rule” — a Senate test that strikes provisions unrelated to fiscal issues from the reconciliation process.
And, according to Politico, five U.S. House Republicans — including former Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, now a Montana representative — threatened to vote against the bill if the land sale remained in the bill.
“We cannot accept the sale of federal lands that Sen. Lee seeks,” Zinke and the other representatives wrote in a letter this week. “If a provision to sell public lands is in the bill that reaches the House floor, we will be forced to vote no.”
Lee’s current effort is similar to the HOUSE Act (Helping Open Underutilized Spaces to Ensure Shelter) that he has proposed in years past.
Politico reported Saturday night that Senate Republicans did not have the votes yet to pass Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” and that Lee was potentially in a group of holdouts concerned about massive spending in the bill.
“President Trump promised to put underutilized federal land to work for American families,” Lee wrote Saturday night, “and I look forward to helping him achieve that in a way that respects the legacy of our public lands and reflects the values of the people who use them most.”
Lee’s vision for a West without public lands is “wildly out of touch” with what Americans want, said Scott Braden, the executive director of the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, in a statement.
“While we’re glad to see Senator Lee has removed his sell-off plan from the budget bill and are celebrating this win,” Braden said, “we know Lee’s underlying goal remains the same: to force the sale of America’s public lands using any excuse or legislative opportunity he can find.”
Note to readers • This story has been updated to include a statement from the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance.
