Five House Republicans are threatening to vote down President Donald Trump's "one big, beautiful bill" if a plan to sell off as much as 1.2 million acres of publicly owned lands stays in it, reported Politico.
"We cannot accept the sale of federal lands that Sen. [Mike] Lee seeks," Reps. Ryan Zinke of Montana, Mike Simpson of Idaho, Dan Newhouse of Washington, Cliff Bentz of Oregon, and David Valadao of California said in a letter to House Speaker Mike Johnson.
"If a provision to sell public lands is in the bill that reaches the House floor, we will be forced to vote no."
Lee's effort would be a "grave mistake, unforced error, and poison pill that will cause the bill to fail should it come to the House Floor," they wrote, arguing that "advancing the House Republicans legislative agenda on public lands and natural resources, along with using existing law for land disposals, is the correct path forward."
Lee said he wanted to sell the land to "expand housing, support local development and get Washington, D.C., out of the way of communities that are just trying to grow."
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.