Federal Judge Removes Acting BLM Director
Acting Bureau of Land Management director William Perry Pendley was asked to step aside on Friday by a federal judge who ruled Pendley has served unlawfully for 424 days.
Chief District Judge Brian Morris of Montana’s U.S. District Court issued the ruling in response to a lawsuit brought by Democratic Montana Gov. Steve Bullock and the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation. Morris additionally ruled Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt cannot pick another person to run the Bureau of Land Management as its acting head because that person must be appointed by the President and Senate-confirmed.
"Pendley has served and continues to serve unlawfully as the Acting BLM Director," Morris wrote in his opinion. "His ascent to Acting BLM Director did not follow any of the permissible paths set forth by the U.S. Constitution or the (Federal Vacancies Reform Act). Pendley has not been nominated by the President and has not been confirmed by the Senate to serve as BLM Director."
He added, "Secretary Bernhardt lacked the authority to appoint Pendley as an Acting BLM Director under the FVRA. Pendley unlawfully took the temporary position beyond the 210-day maximum allowed by the FVRA. Pendley unlawfully served as Acting BLM Director after the President submitted his permanent appointment to the Senate for confirmation -- another violation of the FVRA. And Pendley unlawfully serves as Acting BLM Director today, under color of the Succession Memo."
The judge gave both sides of the case 10 days to file briefs about which of Pendley's orders must be vacated. The BLM manages 244 million acres of federal lands and 30% of the nation’s minerals.
Morris wrote that, by law, the position of Bureau of Land Management director is required to be confirmed by the Senate. The Trump administration argued that Pendley did not officially have the title of acting director, so the requirement does not apply.
"Such arguments prove evasive and undermine the constitutional system of checks and balances," Morris wrote, adding that the administration referred to Pendley publicly as the agency's director.
