MONTANA
Trump nominates BLM chief
BILLINGS – President Donald Trump nominated a former lawmaker from New Mexico on Nov. 5 to oversee the management of vast public lands that are central to Republican efforts to increase fossil fuel production.
The nominee for the Bureau of Land Management, former U.S. 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, including significant reserves of oil, natural gas and coal.
The agency’s policies have shifted considerably depending on which party controls the White House.
Under Democratic President Joe Biden, former bureau Director Tracy Stone-Manning limited oil drilling and coal mining on federal lands while promoting renewable energy to address climate change.
Trump and Republicans in Congress have quickly reversed Biden’s actions, opening millions of acres of public lands for mining and drilling and canceling land plans and conservation strategies developed by the Biden governance.
A previous nominee to lead the agency, longtime oil and gas industry representative Kathleen Sgamma, withdrew in April after reports surfaced of her criticism of Trump for inciting the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Pearce is a former fighter pilot and Vietnam War veteran who successfully led an oil-services company in New Mexico. He was first elected to the House in 2003 and served seven terms representing a district encompassing oil fields and extensive federal public lands.
The land bureau operated for four years without a confirmed director during Trump’s first term. the Republican president also relocated its headquarters to Colorado before it was returned to Washington, D.C., under Biden.
KANSAS
Legislature won’t join redistricting battle
TOPEKA – The Kansas House’s top Republican on Nov. 4 abandoned efforts to force a redraw of U.S. House districts that would have involved the state in a growing national dispute over partisan advantage in the 2026 elections.
The announcement by House Speaker dan Hawkins ended a weeks-long attempt by GOP lawmakers to bypass Democratic Gov. laura Kelly and convene a special session on redistricting, scheduled for Nov. 7.
The proposed session would have targeted four-term U.S. rep. Sharice Davids, the only Democrat in the state’s four-person House delegation.
Republicans can still draw a map aimed at defeating her when the GOP-controlled legislature convenes its next regular session in January. State Senate President Ty Masterson promptly after Hawkins’ announcement that redistricting would be “a top priority” early next year.
kansas Republicans were responding to President Donald Trump’s call for states to redraw their maps to create more winnable seats for the GOP ahead of the 2026 midterms, increasing the party’s chances of maintaining its slim House majority.
The Kansas constitution allowed Republicans to override Kelly’s refusal to call a special session.