Yet another Donald Trump official has found himself in trouble with the law for running a federal agency without Senate confirmation.
"A federal judge ruled Friday that the Trump administration's leading steward of public lands has been serving unlawfully and has blocked him from continuing in the position. U.S. District Judge Brian Morris said U.S. Bureau of Land Management acting director William Perry Pendley served unlawfully for 424 days without being confirmed to the post by the U.S. Senate," the Associated Press reported Friday.
"Pendley's position as acting director was one of several major leadership roles that the Trump administration has sought to fill through temporary appointments and without going through the normal confirmation process.
Trump said he was nominating Pendley in June. But the nomination was withdrawn earlier this month after the confirmation process threatened to become contentious, potentially disrupting key U.S. Senate races in Colorado and Montana, where Bullock is seeking to unseat incumbent Republican Steve Daines," the Associated Press reported. "But Pendley continued to hang on to the post, under an arrangement that Pendley himself set up months ago. In a May 22 order, Pendley made his own position, deputy director, the bureau's top post while the director's office is vacant."
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