Trump: national monuments ‘massive federal land grab’
Associated Press
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump signed an executive order Wednesday directing his interior secretary to review the designation of dozens of national monuments on federal lands, calling the protection efforts “a massive federal land grab” by previous administrations.
It was yet another executive action from a president trying to rack up accomplishments before his first 100 days in office, with Saturday marking that milestone. And it could upend protections put in place in Utah and other states under a 1906 law that authorizes the president to declare federal lands as monuments and restrict their use.
During a signing ceremony at the Interior Department, Mr. Trump said the order would end “another egregious abuse of federal power” and “give that power back to the states and to the people where it belongs.”
Mr. Trump accused the Obama administration of using the Antiquities Act to “unilaterally put millions of acres of land and water under strict federal control” — a practice Mr. Trump called “a massive federal land grab.”
“Somewhere along the way the Act has become a tool of political advocacy rather than public interest,” Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke said.
In December, then-President Barack Obama infuriated Utah Republicans by creating the Bears Ears National Monument on more than 1 million acres of land that’s sacred to Native Americans and home to tens of thousands of archaeological sites, including ancient cliff dwellings.
Republicans in the state asked Mr. Trump to take the unusual step of reversing Mr. Obama’s decision. They said the designation will stymie growth by closing the area to new commercial and energy development. The Antiquities Act does not give the president explicit power to undo a designation and no president has ever taken such a step.
Mr. Trump’s order was one of a handful he intended to sign this week in a flurry of developments before his 100th day in office. The president has used executive orders aggressively over the past three months; as a candidate, Mr. Trump railed against Mr. Obama’s use of this power.
Wednesday’s order will cover several dozen monuments across the country designated since 1996. They total 100,000 acres or more and include the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument and Bear Ears, both in Utah.
Mr. Zinke was directed to produce an interim report in 45 days and make a recommendation on Bears Ears, and then issue a final report within 120 days.
Education policy review
Mr. Trump issued a sweeping review of federal education policies Wednesday in an executive order to pinpoint areas where the government may be overstepping in local school systems.
The order requires Betsy DeVos, Mr. Trump’s education secretary, to review, modify and possibly repeal any regulations and guidelines that are not consistent with federal law.
The study is a first step toward returning power to the states, said Mike Turzai, speaker of the Pennsylvania House, who was among a group of Republican governors and legislators attending the signing. The study could spur legislation that will open doors to more school choice.
Spending bill on track
The White House and congressional Democrats on Wednesday defused a tense standoff over payments for the working poor under the health care law, keeping a massive government spending bill on track just days ahead of a shutdown deadline.
Mr. Trump on Wednesday backed away from a threat to immediately withhold payments to help people with modest incomes with out-ofpocket medical expenses under Mr. Obama’s Affordable Care Act.
A temporary funding bill expires Friday at midnight.
Revised health bill
The Republican health care bill received a jolt of life Wednesday when the conservative House Freedom Caucus endorsed a revised version of the measure. But a leading GOP moderate —
The Senate nudged Mr. Trump’s choice for secretary of labor, Alex Acosta, closer to confirmation Wednesday.