Kathleen Sgamma, President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Bureau of Land Management, withdrew her nomination on Thursday, days after a watchdog group uncovered a memo in which Sgamma appeared to strongly criticize the violence at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
Investigative reporters at Documented published a memo on Tuesday that they say Sgamma, who heads the Western Energy Alliance, wrote and sent to special members of the alliance, just a day after the Capitol attack. WEA is a lobbying firm that represents hundreds of oil and gas companies.
“I don’t usually bother you with reactions to major events shaping the country and world because there is plenty of coverage on those… However, 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,” the Jan. 7 memo began. “I am disgusted by the violence witnessed yesterday and President Trump’s role in spreading misinformation that incited it.”
Sgamma wrote she was also “disgusted” that Trump had “discredited all the good work he did reorienting the judiciary back toward respect for the rule of law and constitution by dishonoring the vote of the People and the rulings of those very same judges on his numerous challenges” to the 2020 election results.”
The memo continued, “But I also see hope after hitting rock bottom as a country.”
The Bureau of Land Management oversees federal land development throughout the U.S. It covers nearly 300 million acres.
Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), the chair of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, announced Sgamma’s withdrawal shortly before she was set to have a nomination hearing before the committee. He did not specify why Sgamma pulled herself out of the running.
In a statement to the committee, Sgamma said it had been an honor to be considered and that she would “continue to support President Trump and fight for his agenda to Unleash American Energy in the private sector.”
Sgamma is no stranger to the Trump administration’s “drill-baby-drill” mission: As HuffPost reported last April, she wrote an entire chapter for the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 about expanding energy production on federal lands.
Sgamma and the Western Energy Alliance did not immediately respond to requests for comment Thursday.
It is not yet clear who will be nominated in her place.
“As a Senator from a state where the federal government owns nearly 70% of the land, I know just how consequential the BLM’s decisions are,” Lee said in a statement to HuffPost. “The agency’s reach is immense, from issuing grazing permits to overseeing mineral leasing to managing wildfires and recreational access; its work directly impacts millions of Americans — especially in the West — and its leadership matters. I’ve long said the BLM needs someone at the helm who understands federalism, respects local input, and grasps both the complexity of the agency’s mission and the real-world impact of its decisions. I look forward to working with the administration to identify a nominee who meets that standard.”