Trump nominates former New Mexico lawmaker to lead Bureau of Land Management
November 5, 2025
President Donald Trump nominated a former lawmaker from New Mexico to oversee the management of a quarter-billion acres of public lands that are concentrated in western states. The nominee for the Bureau of Land Management, former Rep. Steve Pearce of New Mexico, must be confirmed by the Senate. The agency manages a quarter-billion acres — about 10% of land in the U.S. It’s also responsible for 700 million acres of underground minerals that includes major reserves of oil, natural gas and coal. Trump and Republicans in Congress have opened millions of acres of public lands for mining and drilling in a bid to ramp up U.S. fossil fuel production.