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 Daniel 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.

Energy Secretary Chris Wright told lawmakers today that he supports keeping the Loan Programs Office open for business for nuclear power.

Why it matters: The House GOP's reconciliation budget proposes to eliminate unused IRA loan funding, though the DOE's budget proposal includes funding to keep the loan office open.

• "I do think it's a helpful tool to launch nuclear energy, which is why we're requesting money to do just that," Wright told the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
• Wright also told an audience yesterday that he's working with Congress to maintain a level of funding for LPO for transmission projects.

Between the lines: Wright's vision for LPO will likely be diminished compared with the Biden administration's dramatic expansion.

• In fact, former President Biden's flurry of post-Election Day loan approvals are coming under scrutiny, Wright said.
• The agency's review of the DOE awards had uncovered "deeply concerning" decisions that were made "without proper due diligence," Wright said.

Friction point: Some Democrats pressed Wright to tell Republicans to pull back proposed cuts in the reconciliation bill.

• "It looks like you and I agree on at least one issue, and that is that nuclear energy is worth investing in and that the Loan Programs Office has an important role to play," E&C ranking Democrat Frank Pallone said.
• Pallone cited South Carolina's Republican Gov. Henry McMaster's letter to lawmakers that the DOE loan authority and nuclear tax credits are essential to restarting a nuclear plant there.

👀 1. Watching for text: Senate Energy and Natural Resources and Senate Finance are readying their separate reconciliation blueprints.

• Committee text would likely have to be ready by next week to meet the Senate GOP's self-imposed July 4 deadline.

⛰️ 2. Burgum's budget: Interior Secretary Doug Burgum will appear before Senate ENR tomorrow to discuss the agency's FY26 budget request.

• House Natural Resources will host Burgum on Thursday to scrutinize its budget.

☢️ 3. Going nuclear: On Thursday, House Science will explore nuclear's role in meeting AI power demand.

👥 4. Building infrastructure: Senate Environment and Public Works will hold a confirmation hearing tomorrow.

• It will hear testimony on John Busterud to lead EPA's Office of Solid Waste; Adam Telle to be assistant Army secretary for civil works; and Sean McMaster to be administrator of the Federal Highway Administration.