Montana governor presses to remove Trump's public lands boss
BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Montana’s Democratic governor asked a federal judge Thursday to take swift action to remove the Trump administration’s chief steward of public lands, as the former industry attorney hangs onto the post despite the White House saying Saturday that his nomination would be withdrawn.
Gov. Steve Bullock said William Perry Pendley's continuing leadership of the U.S. Bureau of Land Management undermines conservation efforts and is illegal because Pendley never had a Senate confirmation hearing.
The bureau oversees almost a quarter-billion acres of land, primarily in the U.S. West, and regulates activities ranging from mining and oil extraction to livestock grazing and recreation.
The Associated Press reported earlier this week that Pendley remains in charge under an arrangement that Pendley himself set up months ago. In a May 22 order, Pendley made his own position, deputy director, the bureau's top post while the director's office is vacant.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/montana-governor-presses-remove-trumps-191543313.html