Senator presses nominee over DOJ opinion saying presidents can abolish national monuments

At a hearing of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, an unnamed senator said the Department of Justice published an opinion the day before the hearing "that asserts that the presidents have the authority to abolish national monuments," and asked an unnamed nominee for the record what their intentions were toward recently designated monuments in California.

The senator told the nominee the opinion was "an extremely dangerous opinion that flies in the faith of 90 years of precedent," and described recent monument work in California as "personal for me," saying the state had pursued establishment and expansion of monuments "in a very thoughtful and balanced way." The senator added that California designations have "strong bipartisan support, not just at the federal level, but from local and tribal leaders as well."

The nominee replied that they would accept an invitation to visit and highlighted California's role in critical mineral resources. On monuments, the nominee said, "we have a responsibility and direction to take a look at the, the recently created ones." The nominee said their office had received feedback from people saying they "weren't consulted," and emphasized the need to "get on the ground and do some ground truth."

The nominee also flagged the question of monument size and local economic impacts, saying the issue is not whether monuments "serve a person purpose" but "the size that generally comes up because there are people in communities when we create restrictions on land use that does restrict some of their economic opportunity." The nominee said the administration is seeking a "balanced approach" and offered to continue dialogue.

The senator stressed that any reconsideration should include the same level of engagement and consultation that occurred during creation: "If it's gonna be revisited or undone, we expect that same level of engagement on the back end, before any action is taken or before any decisions are made."

No formal action or vote occurred during the exchange. The discussion focused on questions of legal authority, consultation with tribes and local leaders, and the extent and size of recent monument designations in California; the nominee said staff would gather information and continue engagement and site visits as part of next steps.