Western Republican senators were overjoyed with President Donald Trump’s pick of Kathleen Sgamma to be the next Bureau of Land Management director, likely smoothing the path for her confirmation.
Sgamma is the president of the Western Energy Alliance, an oil and gas lobbying group, and an unrepentant advocate for energy production on public lands. If confirmed, Sgamma would assume responsibility for managing nearly 250 million acres of federal lands.
“If I could still do a cartwheel at my age, I would do a cartwheel,” said Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.). “I think she’ll be fabulous: She knows the West, she knows the Rocky Mountains, she knows the oil and gas business, she knows the permitting challenges we have.”
“She’ll be very dedicated to helping meet the multiple-use standards of BLM lands, which we’re just struggling with and have struggled with because the Biden administration rejected the multiple-use standard that’s in the law,” Lummis added.
