Yesterday, it was announced that Donald Trump had nominated Kathleen Sgamma, president of the Western Energy Alliance, a member group advocating for policies benefiting the oil and gas industry, to serve as the Director of the Bureau of Land Management. Today, U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) lauded Sgamma’s nomination in a press release.
“President Trump has made a fantastic selection of Kathleen Sgamma as the Director of the Bureau of Land Management, as she knows our public lands and their untapped resources as well as anyone,” Boebert wrote in a statement. “I’ve had the opportunity to work closely with her on several efforts to responsibly manage our lands while also allowing our oil & gas industry to thrive and bring back American energy dominance. This is a major win for Coloradans and I look forward to supporting her and her team in any way possible.”
Boebert, who has flirted with climate change denial in the past, has indeed worked in tandem with Sgamma and the Western Energy Alliance to introduce legislation that would deregulate the oil and gas industry. One example: On Feb. 9, 2023, during a House Committee on Natural Resources hearing, Boebert interviewed Sgamma at length on this topic.
READ MORE: Boebert Pushes Industry-Backed Effort to Cut Drilling Regulations
“You discussed the increased bureaucracy around lease suspensions and permit extensions,” Boebert said. “What can we in Congress do to ensure that these agencies spend their time reducing the current APD [Application for Permit to Drill] backlog, which sits at almost 5,000, versus haggling over these paperwork exercises?”
“Just specify that an APD term is for four years instead of two,” Sgamma replied to Boebert. “Because right now, when we try to get an extension, we’re having to justify it quarterly. So it’s a bunch of extra paperwork churn. So just make the term four.”
On Feb. 17, 2023, Boebert introduced a bill that, along with making it easier for energy companies to drill, would have done just what Sgamma asked, extending the permit term to four years rather than two. The bill was referred to the Energy & Natural Resources subcommittee, where it seemingly never made it to a vote.
Even before her nomination was announced, Sgamma appears to have graduated from guiding policy for Colorado lawmakers to guiding policy for the Trump administration. The Colorado Sun reported today that she authored the energy section of the right-wing Heritage Foundation’s “Project 2025” presidential transition plan.
That section is titled “Restoring America Energy Dominance,” which has been a common refrain for the Western Energy Alliance in policy discussions around deregulation. Praising the slashes to environmental regulations in the National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA) – a casualty of the summer 2023 debt limit compromise – the organization posted to X (then Twitter) that the forced streamlining of NEPA’s environmental review process were “extremely important for getting our country back on the path of energy dominance.”
“So the NEPA reforms in the debt ceiling compromise are very significant, and we support them. And we have been pushing for these for years and years and years,” Sgamma said in a radio interview at the time.
Sgamma’s new position in the Trump administration, if her appointment is confirmed, will give her the opportunity and authority to directly push the policy changes she has spent years advocating.
