The announcement sparked major condemnation from environmental groups, which pointed to Pendley’s previous statements that seemed to put him wildly at odds with the goal of conserving public lands. The decision is almost certainly influenced by the awkward position in which Pendley’s nomination put Republican Sens. President Donald Trump will withdraw the nomination of William Perry Pendley as director of the Bureau of Land Management in the face of criticism over Pendley’s anti-environmentalist views and advocacy for selling off federal lands. The White House is pulling down the Pendley nomination because Americans don’t want a zealot in charge of their public lands,” he wrote. The department and the bureau did not say why Pendley’s nomination was withdrawn.

Source: Huffington Post August 15, 2020 16:31 UTC