Trump nominates oil industry advocate to oversee public land drilling
President Donald Trump has nominated Kathleen Sgamma, a longtime oil and gas industry leader, to head the Bureau of Land Management, putting a pro-drilling advocate in charge of public land policy.
Maxine Joselow reports for The Washington Post.
In short:
- Sgamma leads the Western Energy Alliance, a trade group that sued the Biden administration over a conservation rule that prioritized environmental protection on public lands.
- If confirmed, she would help implement Trump’s pro-drilling agenda, reversing Biden-era policies that expanded conservation and renewable energy efforts.
- Environmentalists oppose her nomination, while oil industry leaders praise her for understanding energy production challenges on federal lands.
Key quote:
“We have no choice but to litigate. These conservation leases seem to be designed to preclude energy development on federal lands.”
— Kathleen Sgamma, president of the Western Energy Alliance
Why this matters:
Kathleen Sgamma’s nomination marks a significant shift in federal land and energy policy, signaling a potential rollback of conservation policies in favor of expanded fossil fuel development. As a longtime advocate for the oil and gas industry, Sgamma has been a vocal critic of regulatory restrictions on drilling, arguing that they stifle economic growth and energy independence. If confirmed, she would likely push for increased leasing of public lands for oil and gas extraction, a move that could have broad implications for climate policy, wildlife protection and renewable energy initiatives.
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