A group of House Republicans sent a letter Monday calling on Senate leadership to oppose the nomination of Tracy Stone-Manning, President Joe Biden’s choice to serve as the director of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM).
The letter, first obtained by the Daily Caller, was addressed to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, along with Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairman Joe Manchin and Ranking Member John Barrasso.
Biden nominated Stone-Manning in an announcement last Thursday. She is a longtime environmental activist who previously worked on conservation efforts at the National Wildlife Federation, according to PBS.
If confirmed, she would serve under Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, who faced scrutiny from Republicans over her criticisms of the oil and gas industry. (RELATED: ‘Proxy Fight For The Future Of Fossil Fuels’: Biden Interior Nominee Fields Questions About ‘Radical’ Climate Agenda)
The letter noted that Stone-Manning opposed the Trump administration’s efforts to reform the BLM, including a proposal to move the agency’s headquarters from Washington, D.C. to Colorado. She previously called the proposal an “expensive and unnecessary relocation,” according to Deseret News.
The letter also rebuked Stone-Manning for supporting recent House bills related to drilling and leasing regulations on federal lands. House Republicans warned the legislation would “increase royalty fees, reimpose regulations, and in other respects hinder our nation’s ability to secure a stable energy future.”
(DAILY CALLER OBTAINED) EXC… by Varun Hukeri
House Freedom Caucus Chair Rep. Andy Biggs and House Natural Resources Committee member Rep. Lauren Boebert joined seven other House Republican signatories in expressing their opposition to Stone-Manning’s nomination.
“Another far-Left appointee is about to take over an agency that administers over a tenth of the territory of the United States,” Biggs told the Daily Caller before sending the letter. “If Ms. Stone-Manning is confirmed, she will reimpose new regulations on the energy sector and may even move BLM’s headquarters back to D.C.”
“She will allow BLM to fall under the sway of Washington bureaucrats. Her appointment will compromise our nation’s energy future. Surely our Senators will take the rational approach and reject Ms. Stone-Manning’s radical vision,” he continued.
“I have serious concerns about this nomination and the partisan hacks filling senior positions within the Biden administration. Ms. Stone-Manning has an extreme record opposing issues that are important to the West and the people in my communities,” Boebert told the Daily Caller.
“Her opposition to the Bureau of Land Management Headquarters move as well responsible oil and gas development that creates good-paying jobs and has helped reduce carbon emissions significantly is of concern,” she continued.