Amodei in May. Photo: Kent Nishimura / Bloomberg via Getty Images
Rep. Mark Amodei said his controversial push to include public-land sales in reconciliation is "very much alive" as the Senate hashes out its natural resources text this week.
Why it matters: The provision remains a top area of disagreement between the two chambers after Rep. Ryan Zinke staunchly opposed it, leading it to be stripped from the House bill.
- The intraparty split is a prominent example of how GOP lawmakers are using the threat of "red lines" differently in the one-party budget process with a slim majority.
What he's saying: Amodei told Axios that he talked to Senate ENR Chair Mike Lee about the public-land sales and also believes the White House supports it.
- House leadership had asked for the land sales to be included in the deal as a way to avoid deeper cuts elsewhere, Amodei said. Opposition from Zinke, a former Interior secretary, came as a surprise.
- Amodei suggested leadership should call Zinke's bluff: "There's no way in hell he's going to vote against the big, beautiful bill because he's got a red line for 63,000 or 93,000 acres in Nevada," he said. "Really?"
- Neither the White House nor Lee's office immediately responded to requests for comment.
The other side: "Congressman Zinke has long been opposed to the large-scale sale or transfer of federal lands, which is clear if one examines his congressional record dating back to 2015 and his tenure as secretary," Zinke's office said in a statement.
- Environmental and conservation groups vehemently oppose the idea. And a spokesperson for Sen. Steve Daines — a key President Trump ally — said the senator is also against it.
The big picture: Amodei refuses to draw a red line around anything in the bill — including public-land sales and IRA energy credits — that would tank an extension of Trump's tax cuts.
- Amodei, whose northern Nevada district is home to major lithium and battery supply chain companies, signed all of the pro-IRA letters. But he finds the one-bill approach too momentous to sink over those issues.
- He's now "cheering for the Senate" to make IRA credits more accessible, reflected in yet another letter sent by 13 House Republicans to Senate leadership.
