President Joe Biden’s pick to lead the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has generated much controversy due to her ties to conservation groups and her past history of environmental activism.
In a 10-10 vote on July 22, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee voted to move Tracy Stone-Manning’s nomination to the Senate floor. Due to the tie along party lines, Majority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) had the authority to move the nomination forward to the full Senate.
Republicans were vastly opposed to the nomination. “Tracy Stone-Manning collaborated with eco-terrorists and lied to our committee,” said Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY). “Lying to the United States Senate has consequences. In this case her actions and her lies should cost her this nomination.”
Committee Chairman Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) said in his opening remarks there had been a thorough review of Stone-Manning’s potential role in a 1989 tree spiking incident in the Clearwater National Forest.
“I have been unable to find any credible evidence in the exhaustive trial record of the tree spiking case that shows that Ms. Stone Manning was an ‘eco-terrorist,’ that she spiked any trees, that she conspired with ‘eco-terrorists’ to spike trees, or that she lied to the Committee,” Manchin said.
He added he found compelling evidence that she “built a solid reputation over the past three decades as a dedicated public servant and as a problem solver, who has brought people together.”
Democratic leaders have expressed they are confident there will be enough votes on the Senate floor to confirm Stone-Manning’s nomination. — Anna Miller, WLJ managing editor
