Steve Pearce

The U.S. Senate confirmed former New Mexico Congressman Steve Pearce as director of the Bureau of Land Management on May 18, part of a package vote on 49 presidential nominees. While many are celebrating the confirmation, some find the appointment disappointing — especially those not thrilled to see the federal government selling public land to private owners.

Pearce will now oversee 245 million acres of federal public lands. It is the largest landowner in Wyoming, owning about a third of the state.

There are many who are backing the former congressman, including high profile organizations and the Wyoming leaders quick to usher in Pearce. Pearce has a stacked resume, most recently serving as the chairman of the New Mexico Republican Party from 2018 through 2024. He also served in Congress as the U.S. representative for New Mexico’s Second Congressional District for 14 years. He failed in campaigns for a U.S. Senate seat in 2008 and governor in 2018.

Before his service in the political arena, Pearce was the owner and operator of Lea Fishing Tools, an oilfield services company in Hobbs, New Mexico. He also served as a pilot in the U.S. Air Force.

Local reaction

Sen. Cynthia Lummis, who serves as the chair of the Senate Western Caucus, officially introduced Pearce at his Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing and actively supported his nomination. She presented Pearce as an ideal leader for the agency, stating his expertise at the helm is a “major win for Wyoming and the entire West.” She highlighted his understanding of how federal land decisions impact ranching communities, energy-producing counties, and rural economies, and she emphasized his commitment to partnering with local experts rather than dictating to western communities.

Sen. John Barrasso also hailed the appointment, saying “decisions made by [the BLM] have a significant impact on Wyoming’s economy and our way of life.”

“Director Pearce will be a strong partner in the fight to protect the multiple-use of Wyoming’s and all of America’s federal lands,” Barrasso said Monday.

Gov. Mark Gordon also welcomed Pearce to his leadership role.

“Former Congressman Steve Pearce is uniquely qualified to lead the Bureau of Land Management. He knows the importance of the agency’s multiple-use mandate and values local and state input on land management decisions. It is gratifying to see his confirmation to this vital role,” he said in a press release Tuesday morning. “I look forward to working with him on issues critical to Wyoming such as oil, gas, and coal leasing, sage-grouse, recreation, resource management plans, wild horse management, and grazing.”

Rep. Harriet Hageman has not issued an official press release or public statement regarding the confirmation as of deadline.

Western Energy Alliance President Melissa Simpson was also quick to celebrate the confirmation.

“Steve Pearce is exactly the kind of experienced, principled leader we need at the helm of BLM,” Simpson said. “He’s a westerner and comes from a state that’s nearly 20% BLM land, so he understands the Bureau’s mission. His tenure in Congress and his time as a small business owner in the oil field show he’s a champion of multiple-uses of public lands, from expanding domestic energy production, supporting grazing and recreation, and protecting landscapes through targeted conservation. We look forward to his leadership at BLM.”

Opposition

However, there are many who don’t look forward to Pearce’s leadership. His attempts to sell off New Mexico’s public lands were a central issue when he ran for governor of New Mexico in 2018, ultimately contributing to his loss, but he didn’t let that stop him, according to the Center for Western Priorities.

The center claims Pearce has a long history of obstructing federal land management and advocating for the transfer and privatization of public lands.

“Pearce’s staunch opposition to public lands made him a founding member of the Center for American Progress’s “Anti-Parks Caucus.” He opposed the designation of Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument in his own congressional district, which is now recognized as a major economic driver for the Las Cruces economy. Over his seven terms in Congress, Pearce received a lifetime score of 4% from the League of Conservation Voters,” the center said in a November press release, warning those who are passionate about conserving public lands.

“Pearce’s confirmation is part of a combined assault by Congress and the Trump administration on America’s public lands,” the center said in a Tuesday statement. “The Trump administration has essentially hollowed out BLM’s senior leadership in recent weeks — only four out of 12 BLM state offices currently have permanent state directors.”

Wyoming BLM Director Kris Kirby had been directing the agency as an acting director since 2025. She stepped into the position as the acting director following an ethics probe involving the former director.

The Wilderness Society points out Pearce has publicly championed the sale of public lands. In 2005, he voted for a failed provision in a budget bill that would have allowed the sale of public lands well below market rate. He has expressed a desire to reverse the “trend” of public lands ownership and called for “divesting” the government of its “vast land holdings.” In 2016, he went so far as to cosponsor a bill that would hasten the sale or exchange of public lands.

Pearce has consistently supported legislation that “puts extractive corporations before the American people,” the organization stated. He has voted against cutting subsidies for oil companies and against efforts to hold them accountable for disasters. He helped pass a 2013 bill that directed land managers to prioritize drilling above all other uses and fought against implementation of a BLM rule aimed at reducing natural gas waste.

Acting director

Under the Federal Vacancies Reform Act of 1998, an “acting officer” in the executive branch can hold the position for no longer than 210 days after the vacancy opens. Yet, Pearce served about twice that long as an acting director before confirmation.

The Trump administration has long fought the limit on acting officer terms. In Trump’s first term, BLM acting director William Perry Pendley told an audience in Cody that a judge’s decision ruling he had overstayed in his role by more than double the allowed time allotted had “changed nothing and he wasn’t planning on leaving.”

Pendley paraphrased Mark Twain in saying, “News of my political demise has been greatly exaggerated,” while speaking in Cody at a conference in 2020.

U.S. District Judge Brian Morris of Montana ruled earlier that Pendley had “served unlawfully” as the acting head of the BLM for 424 days, enjoined him from acting as the director and suggested any actions that Pendley took as director must be reversed.

However, Pendley said in an interview with the Tribune that Judge Morris’ decision “has no impact, no impact whatsoever.”