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Steve Pearce, former New Mexico congressman and President Donald Trump's nominee to lead the Bureau of Land Management, has built his vast wealth in the oil and gas sector. His ethics agreement requires him to divest millions of dollars from fossil fuel and energy companies, yet some of his financial entanglements remain undisclosed.
Last year, Pearce made as much as $2.1 million from residential rental and leased commercial real estate properties in Hobbs, New Mexico. He also raked in up to $1.1 million last year off of frac tank leases and water sales. Frac tanks are large, liquid storage tanks most commonly used in oil and gas operations. Pearce's financial disclosure does not detail which companies Pearce leased his equipment to, which raises concerns over potential conflicts of interest.
Pearce has a long history of trying to sell off national public lands. On at least seven occasions, Pearce has tried to dispose of public lands for the benefit of developers and extractive industries over the American people.
Congress passes environmental funding without Trump’s major cuts
Last Thursday, the U.S. Senate passed a spending package that will largely fund several science- and land-related agencies at current levels. The bill now heads to President Donald Trump, who is expected to sign it. The bill was, in many ways, a congressional rebuke of Trump’s request to drastically cut critical federal services related to the environment.
“It really shows that our public lands are meant to be managed for everyone in this country and not just private industry looking to turn a profit,” said Miranda Badgett, senior government relations representative for The Wilderness Society.
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When you force those communities to hang on to a technology and an industry of the past, you’re just preventing people from taking advantage of opportunities of the future.”
