WASHINGTON (AP) — Congressional Republicans voted Thursday to roll back restrictions on mining, drilling and other development in three Western states, advancing President Donald Trump’s ambitions to expand energy production from public lands.
Senators voted 50-46 to repeal land management plans that were adopted in the final weeks of Democratic President Joe Biden’s administration for large areas of Alaska, Montana and North Dakota.
That timing made the plans vulnerable to the Congressional Review Act, which allows Congress to terminate rules that are finalized near the end of a president’s term. The resolutions require a simple majority in each chamber and take effect upon the president’s signature.
The House approved the repeals last month in votes largely along party lines. Trump is