Trump nominee abruptly withdrawn over past criticism of President

The Trump administration abruptly withdrew its nominee for director of the Bureau of Land Management shortly before she was scheduled to testify before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.

Kathleen Sgamma, the longtime president of the Western Energy Alliance, was withdrawn Thursday, just hours before the hearing, after her private comments to the trade group surfaced on X criticizing Trump for his role in the Jan. 6 insurrection, reported Axios.

“The events yesterday at the Capitol were so shocking that our policy engagement with and PAC support for the Trump Administration compels me to speak up,” Sgamma wrote to other alliance members on Jan. 7, 2021. “I am disgusted by the violence witnessed yesterday and President Trump’s role in spreading misinformation that incited it.”

Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT), the committee chairman, said he was informed of the withdrawal Thursday morning, and a White House spokesperson said the administration looks forward to advancing another, unspecified nominee.

“Individuals who know their views don’t align with the president, and yet seek political appointments hoping such divergence will not be noticed cause needless harm and conflict, hindering the president’s agenda,” David Bernhardt, who led the Interior Department during Trump’s first term, posted on X. “Sad. Self-inflicted.”

Sgamma contributed to the Project 2025 chapter on the interior department, and environmental groups had vigorously opposed her nomination while industry associates strongly supported it.

"I am disappointed that we're not going have the opportunity to advance Kathleen Sgamma," said Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK). "Looking at her background and working with her over the years on the committee, she is, I think, very well qualified, and we were really counting on her to unlock some of the things that had been stalled out in the previous administration."

Aaron Weiss, deputy director of the Center for Western Priorities conservation group, said he was glad to see Sgamma withdrawn as the nominee and criticized her refusal to publicly disclose the Western Energy Alliance’s members.

“We’ve been saying all along that WEA was too secretive,” Weiss said. “Their membership list should have been public all along. If Sgamma’s secrecy and lack of candor with the White House is what doomed her nomination, that’s ironic, if not fitting.”