WASHINGTON _ President Donald Trump, who campaigned on a pledge to keep federal lands in federal hands, is now considering candidates for interior secretary who have advocated transferring vast swaths of federal property to states, and even to private interests.
These include U.S. Rep. Raul Labrador of Idaho, who met with White House officials Saturday about the job, and U.S. Sen. Dean Heller, who has left open the possibility he'd take a Cabinet position with Trump. Both Republicans will be jobless at the end of the month, after Heller lost his Senate re-election bid and Labrador lost the GOP primary for Idaho governor.
While running for president, Trump told hunting and fishing interests he was opposed to transferring federal lands to states and private interests, saying he wanted to "keep the lands great." His position is thought to be influenced by his son, Donald Trump Jr., a sportsman with strong ties to hunting and angling organizations, which oppose transfer of lands they use for sport.
