Permitting—a major topic of efforts by Oklahoma U.S. Sen. Alan Armstrong—is also a big topic of discussion in Wyoming where coal miners and other developers of energy sources are hopeful the confirmation of a new Bureau of Land Management Director will solve some of their challenges.
The U.S. Senate voted May 18 to confirm former New Mexico Congressman Steve Pearce as the Director of the Bureau of Land Management in a 46-43 vote. His name was among a long list of others nominated by President Trump to various federal positions. Pearce succeeded Tracy Stone-Manning, Five years ago, Oklahoma U.S. Sen. James Lankford joined in the opposition to Stone-Manning’s appointment because of her extreme environmental activism history. Sens. Lankford and Alan Armstrong voted to support the Pearce nomination.
His confirmation gives hope to Wyoming energy players who contend, the need is urgent, reported the Cowboy State Daily. Oil, gas and coal permits are backlogged in the state and the Bureau of Land Management oversees more land and mineral production than nearly any other state in the country.
“It’s very important that the BLM director gets his hands around the agency as soon as possible,” former Assistant Interior Secretary Rob Wallace told the newspaper. “The need to get a state director is pretty pressing right now.”
Pointing out that the federal government manages nearly half of the surface land in Wyoming and 65% of its mineral estate, Wallace said no other state feels the consequences of BLM “dysfunction.”
The Cowboy State Daily explained that the BLM offices in Wyoming are also struggling with staffing shortages worsened by federal hiring freezes and workforce cuts. Nationwide, DOGE or the Department of Government Efficiency eliminated nearly 800 BLM employees across the nation.
“It’s a really critical issue right now,” Wallace said.
The BLM has long struggled with staffing and funding challenges, particularly in Western states like Wyoming where workloads are vast and highly technical.
Wyoming is one of the agency’s most resource-intensive states, with oil, natural gas, coal, trona, uranium, grazing, and wildlife management all competing for attention from the same field offices.
The President’s nomination of Pearce last fall was not well received in his home state where Democrats called him a “dangerous choice” as they contended he would sell off federal lands in New Mexico.
Former congresswoman Deb Haaland, who later became Secretary of the Interior in the Biden administration is the one who called the 78-year old Pearce the “dangerous choice.” Pearce was not the President’s first choice but was chosen when Kathleen Sgamma withdrew because of revelations she once criticized President Trump in 2021 for inciting the Jan. 6 incident on the U.S. Capitol.
Pearce wasn’t even supported by his home state’s two U.S. Senators, both Democrats. At the time of his nomination in November of 2025, Sen. Martin Heinrich said at the time he would consider the nomination as he would any other.
“With all nominations, I look at whether they will faithfully uphold the law,” Heinrich said in a statement. “And for the position to lead the Bureau of Land Management, I want to know whether they will respect the public land protections we have in New Mexico and across the West. We need a person in this position who will be a good steward of our public lands for all of us, not divvy them out as political favors.”
The state’s other U.S. Senator, Ben Ray Lujan wasn’t so accommodating about the nomination.
“Steve Pearce opposed protecting the Organ Mountains–Desert Peaks National Monument in his own congressional district,” he said in a statement. “His record makes clear he would not stand up for New Mexico’s public lands — especially after Republicans already tried to sell off millions of acres earlier this year.”
He also voted against the Pearce nomination.
