9/26: UPDATE -- Federal Judge Kicks Land-Management Chief Pendley Out of Office

Remember William Pendley? He's the guy who would never be confirmed as the head of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), in part because of his two books arguing that the federal government shouldn't own land?

Pendley has had a series of interim appointments since July 2019, first by "secretarial orders" issued by the head of the Department of the Interior, and then via "succession orders" -- which Pendley issued himself!

Friday, federal judge Brian Morris put an end to it. Morris said Pendley had served "unlawfully as the Acting BLM Director for 424 days," and further, stopped him from exercising the authority of the agency's director. That is, he ordered Pendley kicked out of his position.

If you hear cheering coming from the offices of conservation and environmental groups tonight, you can thank Montana's Democratic governor, Steve Bullock, who brought the lawsuit against Pendley.

https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/518376-court-removes-pendley-from-role-as-public-lands-chief?fbclid=IwAR3nHHwqQ0_MGOacr8QkEJ5iZg-LVtC_kHka2uMjz3iVCsY0zmggTh5XOZo