The Independent View: Trump’s Acting Public Lands Chief Can Head Agency Indefinitely

William Perry Pendley has led the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) for more than a year without ever facing the Scrutiny of a Senate Confirmation.

It was through a series of Controversial, if Not Illegal, Temporary Reappointments that, Pendley, an Anti-Public Lands Extremist, Ascended to the Top of the BLM, an Agency that Oversees 245 Million acres of Federal Land.

In late May, approximately Two weeks before One of those Controversial Extensions was set to Expire, Pendley, a Former Property Rights Lawyer who spent his Career arguing that Public Lands should Not even Exist, Crafted and Signed an Order to keep himself at the Helm of the BLM Indefinitely.

The Order, which was First Reported, on Wednesday August 19th, states that in the Absence of a Permanent BLM Director, the Director’s Authority and Responsibility falls to None Other than the Bureau’s Deputy Director of Policy and Programs, the Position Pendley has held since July 2019.

President Trump formally Nominated Pendley to the Post in late June 2019, but then the White House said Trump, is Withdrawing him from Consideration, Signaling Doubts about whether he’d get enough Votes for Senate Confirmation. The move also Freed Two Vulnerable Republican Allies, Sens. Cory Gardner (CO) and Steve Daines (MT), from having to Vote him Up or Down. Two Weeks after Pendley’s Appointment, Interior Secretary, David Bernhardt, Elevated him to the Role of Acting Director.

“The Trump administration and complicit senators are purposefully avoiding the only opportunity Americans have to hear and review the positions and beliefs of Senate-confirmable executive positions as required by the constitution,” said Jayson O’Neill, Director of Public Lands Watchdog Group Western Values Project.

Pendley’s Order became Official on May 22nd, when he and Casey Hammond, the Interior Department’s Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Land and Minerals Management, both Signed the Document. It came on the heels of a Federal Lawsuit that Two Conservation Groups, Western Watersheds Project and Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, filed to Challenge the Legality of Pendley’s Backdoor Appointment.

The Legal Challenge from the Conservation Groups and a Separate Lawsuit filed, last month by, Montana Gov. Steve Bullock (D), who is Running to Unseat Daines in November, both argue that Pendley’s Ongoing Tenure Violates the Federal Vacancies Reform Act, which Limits the Amount of Time Cabinet Officials may Serve in an Acting Role to 210 days. The Lawsuits, which Interior has Dismissed as Frivolous, seek to Remove Pendley from his Acting Duties.

Interior Department Spokesperson, Conner Swanson, said Pendley’s May 22nd Order provides “the same legal standing as prior actions and ensure[s] the smooth continuity of operations for leadership positions. These delegations under succession orders, which have existed and been updated throughout this administration and many prior administrations, comply with the Vacancies Reform Act,” he added in an email.

However, Legal Experts were Quick to Question the Legality of Pendley’s Self-Appointment Order. “It is the ultimate in bootstrapping because Pendley, who is in my view not serving legally in this job, is naming himself at the top in the order of succession,” Nina Mendelson, a Professor of Law at the University of Michigan and an Expert on Administrative Law, said.

Others saw it as the Latest Sign that the Washington “Swamp” Trump Vowed to “Drain” of Special Interests is indeed Thriving under his Administration.