FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

August 17, 2020

MCV to Daines & Gianforte: Demand Trump Fire William Perry Pendley Now

Controversial BLM Nominee to remain at helm of agency despite withdrawal of nomination

(BILLINGS, Mont.) – Montana Conservation Voters is asking Montana Senator Steve Daines and Congressman Greg Gianforte to demand that President Trump fire controversial BLM chief William Perry Pendley, after confirming that Pendley will remain at the helm of the agency even despite news that the White House has withdrawn his nomination.

“This means that Mr. Pendley will continue serving, unconstitutionally, in this important role without Senate confirmation,” MCV Executive Director Aaron Murphy wrote to Senators Steve Daines and Jon Tester, and Congressman Greg Gianforte. “We find this grossly unacceptable, and a direct affront to our public lands and Montana’s outdoor way of life.”

MCV’s letter is below and online HERE.

Murphy noted that Tester quickly responded to the news, saying, “Pendley and his anti-public lands agenda have no place at the Bureau of Land Management.”

“But Senator Daines and Congressman Gianforte, your silence on Mr. Pendley’s position—which signals your support of his anti-public lands record—is a deafening disservice to MCV’s members—your constituents, and our shared outdoor heritage,” MCV’s letter continues. “Senator Daines, you have dismissed Montanans’ concerns about Mr. Pendley’s record as ‘overblown.’ Is this still your answer to Mr. Pendley, given that not even the White House is willing to put Mr. Pendley, under oath, in front of your Senate Committee, to ask tough questions? If anyone thinks that passes the smell test, then their senses have been tainted by the swampy stench of Washington.”

MCV is currently running a statewide StopPendley.org awareness campaign, which features a hard-hitting TV ad, a website and homepage newspaper takeovers to educate all Montanans about William Perry Pendley, Pendley’s concerning anti-public lands record, and Daines’s official responsibilities in confirming presidential nominees as a U.S. Senator. StopPendley.org also features a petition asking Daines to stop Pendley.

“If you still consider yourselves conservationists, then we call on you to demand President Trump fire Mr. Pendley from his position as Acting Director of the BLM immediately,” Murphy wrote. “Anyone who is familiar with the U.S. Constitution knows this is wrong, and MCV will not sit on the sidelines as Washington politicians dismantle our democracy’s checks and balances, action by action. Pretending that this issue is not one that is important to Montana’s outdoor way of life is an unfortunate consequence of not listening to constituents.”

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