April 10 (UPI) — President Donald Trump’s nominee to head the Bureau of Land Management, Kathleen Sgamma, withdrew her name from consideration on Thursday.
Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, announced Sgamma’s withdrawal.
“I was informed by the White House earlier today that one of the nominees scheduled for consideration at today’s hearing, Kathleen Sgamma … has withdrawn from consideration,” Lee said Thursday.
The White House later confirmed her withdrawal.
“It was an honor to be nominated by President Trump as Director of the Bureau of Land Management, but unfortunately at this time I need to withdraw my nomination,” Sgamma wrote in a statement provided by the White House Thursday.
Her withdrawal comes two days after a comment Sgamma wrote reacting to the Jan. 6, 2021, riots at the U.S. Capitol was re-posted by investigative reporter Nick Surgey.
Sgamma wrote Jan. 7, 2021, “I am disgusted by the violence I witnessed yesterday and President Trump’s role in spreading misinformation that incited it.”
She added Trump dishonored “the vote of the People.”
The Sierra Club criticized Sgamma as an oil and gas lobbyist who works for an industry trade group that sought to greatly expand oil and gas drilling on public lands.
“Kathleen Sgamma’s entire career has been focused on handing over our public lands to oil and gas companies. Placing her at the top of BLM would have been a disaster, but withdrawing her nomination doesn’t change this administration’s top goal – selling off those public lands to fund tax cuts for billionaires,” Sierra Club said in a statement.
The Sierra Club said as presdient of the Western Energy Alliance Sgamma “repeatedly sued the federal government to reduce or overturn protections for public lands that would limit oil and gas production.”
The National Parks Conservation Association had also opposed her BLM nomination, writing in a statement, “The nominee has sought to weaken protections for public lands where oil and natural gas extraction may occur.”
