Inside Climate News - The Department of Justice, in an opinion issued Tuesday, argues President Donald Trump has the power to review and eliminate national monuments to make way for development and resource extraction on public lands—walking back a previous opinion from the department that found only Congress can dismantle a national monument.
Since Trump took office, his administration has touted the idea of shrinking or eliminating national monuments his predecessors created. Tuesday’s opinion, which stems from a White House request after it attempted to eliminate two monuments earlier this year, has no influence on case law that has upheld the protection of national monuments, but it does offer insight into how the Trump administration is likely to justify dismantling protected areas in court.
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