Sen. Mike Lee speaks during the Senate Judiciary Committee markup hearing on Nov. 30, 2023. (Bill Clark/Getty Images)
"I continue to believe the federal government owns far too much land – land it is mismanaging and in many cases ruining for the next generation," Lee wrote in his post. "Under Democratic presidents, massive swaths of the West are being locked away from the people who live there, with no meaningful recourse."
Lee had included a mandate for sales of millions of acres of federal lands in a draft provision of the tax cut package earlier this month. He preemptively pulled the provision on Saturday ahead of a procedural vote, as a handful of Republican lawmakers in both chambers publicly denounced the provision and said they would vote against the bill if it was included.
"We’ve got the votes to strike it," Montana Sen. Steve Daines said Thursday of Lee's provision. "We’re ready."
SENATE GOP AIMS TO APPROVE MAJOR LEGISLATION NEXT WEEK AS TRUMP TOUTS PARTY UNITY
President Donald Trump is rallying Republican lawmakers to pass the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
"The people of Idaho have been clear – we do NOT support the sale of our public lands to the highest bidder. I am proud to help lead the effort to remove this provision from the One Big Beautiful Bill," Idaho Republican Sen. Jim Risch posted to X after Lee said he would pull the provision.
MIKE JOHNSON, DONALD TRUMP GET ‘BIG, 'BEAUTIFUL’ WIN AS BUDGET PASSES HOUSE
Sunrise light hits the U.S. Capitol dome on Jan. 2, 2025. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
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Lawmakers are on a tight 4th of July deadline to get the legislation, which will advance Trump's agenda on taxes, immigration, energy, defense and the national debt, to the president's desk. Senate Republicans successfully carried the legislation over a procedural hurdle late on Saturday after hours of negotiations.
Fox News Digital's Alex Miller and Elizabeth Elkind contributed to this report.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/mike-lee-preemptively-drops-big-beautiful-bill-provision-sell-federal-lands-riled-gop-colleagues