What Just Happened?
A powerful Senate official just stopped a huge plan to sell off public land in Nevada and other western states. Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough ruled Monday night that a Republican proposal to sell more than 2 million acres of federal lands violates the chamber’s rules.
This is a big deal for Nevada. The federal government owns over 80 percent of state land in Nevada. Under the blocked plan, the federal government would sell between 240,000 and 360,000 acres in Nevada alone.
Who Made This Decision and Why It Feels Strange
Here’s where things get interesting for conservatives who believe in limited government. Elizabeth MacDonough is an unelected, nonpartisan interpreter of chamber rules, commonly referred to as the Senate referee. She’s been in this job since 2012.
Think about this for a moment. One person, who no one elected, just stopped a plan that could have given Nevada more control over its own land. MacDonough found that the committee’s mandatory sale of U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management land in 11 states violated the Byrd Rule, which requires all items in a reconciliation package to have a direct and substantive impact on federal spending or revenues.
This raises serious questions about who really runs our government. Here’s an unelected official blocking something that could reduce federal control and increase local control. That should concern anyone who believes Washington has too much power.
What the Plan Would Have Done
Senator Mike Lee, a Utah Republican, has proposed selling millions of acres of public lands in the West to states or other entities for use as housing or infrastructure. The plan aimed to tackle the housing crisis crushing families across the West.
“Housing prices are crushing families and keeping young Americans from living where they grew up. We need to change that,” Lee wrote. That’s exactly the kind of problem solving conservatives support, getting government out of the way so people can build homes and communities.
Housing prices are crushing families and keeping young Americans from living where they grew up. We need to change that.
Thanks to YOU—the AMERICAN PEOPLE—here’s what I plan to do:
1. REMOVE ALL Forest Service land. We are NOT selling off our forests.
2. SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCE…
— Mike Lee (@SenMikeLee) June 24, 2025
The money from these sales wouldn’t just disappear either. 90 percent of sales revenue would be returned to the U.S. Treasury to pay down debt. Five percent would go to the local government with jurisdiction where a parcel was sold, and 5 percent to the state.
Why This Matters to Conservatives
This story shows everything wrong with how Washington works today. You have a senator trying to solve real problems – expensive housing, federal overreach, and government debt. But one unelected bureaucrat can kill the whole thing with a rule nobody outside Washington understands.
“Washington has proven time and again it can’t manage this land. This bill puts it in better hands,” Lee said. That’s the conservative principle at work – local control beats federal control every time.
In Nevada specifically, this makes even less sense. Nevada Democrats have long supported compromises that convey parcels of public land that make sense for development in exchange for putting large swaths of other land under new conservation protections. Even Democrats in Nevada understand that some federal land should be sold.
What Critics Are Saying
Democrats and environmental groups fought hard against this plan. “Democrats will not stand idly by while Republicans attempt to circumvent the rules of budget reconciliation in order to sell off public lands to fund tax breaks for billionaires,” said Oregon Sen. Jeff Merkley.
Some Republicans also opposed the plan. Both of Idaho’s U.S. senators and Montana’s Steve Daines have come out against a plan in Congress to sell off 2 to 3 million acres of Forest Service and BLM land across the West. They worry about losing hunting and recreation access.
But here’s what’s missing from their arguments. Nobody talks about the families who can’t afford homes. Nobody mentions the young people leaving Nevada because they can’t buy a house where they grew up.
What Happens Next
Senator Lee isn’t giving up. Lee vowed to remove all sales on Forest Service lands and “significantly reduce” the amount of Bureau of Land Management sales. He also promised to make land near population centers eligible.
According to Backcountry Hunters and Anglers, they’ve confirmed with Mike Lee’s office that he is currently rewriting his proposal to try again. The fight isn’t over.
But this whole episode shows how broken the system is. Since Republicans are using a budget reconciliation process in an effort to shield the bill from a Democratic filibuster, MacDonough has been tasked with ticking through the 1,000-page proposal to ensure it complies with the Byrd Rule.
So now Republicans have to jump through more hoops and rewrite everything because one person said it doesn’t follow the rules properly.
What Conservatives Can Do
First, pay attention to who really makes decisions in Washington. The parliamentarian isn’t mentioned in the Constitution. This position has way too much power for someone nobody votes for.
Second, support Senator Lee’s revised plan when it comes back. Nevada needs more land for housing and development. Families deserve the chance to buy homes without going broke.
Third, ask hard questions about the Byrd Rule and other Senate procedures that let unelected officials block elected representatives. These rules often protect big government instead of limiting it.
Finally, remember this story when people talk about draining the swamp. The real swamp isn’t just politicians – it’s unelected bureaucrats who can kill good ideas with procedures most Americans have never heard of.
Nevada families deserve better. They deserve the chance to build homes on land that’s been locked up by federal agencies for decades. One person shouldn’t be able to stop that just because of some rule about budget reconciliation.
This article was written with the assistance of AI. Please verify information and consult additional sources as needed.
