The White House may rescind the monument status for two monuments in California that were proclaimed federally protected lands by the Biden administration. The proclamation was made late into Biden’s term, with less than a week before the US presidency transitioned to President Trump.
The monuments that may be rescinded are Chuckwalla and the Sáttítla Highlands, which will both protect 848,000 acres of land in the southern and northern regions of California.
According to a recent memo from the Department of Justice (DOJ), the DOJ found that the Antiquities Act of 1906 allows the US President to change the status of a national monument. This act was used by Biden to proclaim both California lands as national monuments.
The memo further states that “such an alteration can have the effect of eliminating entirely the reservation of the parcel of land previously associated with a national monument.” The DOJ finds that the Biden administration improperly used this act when proclaiming both lands national monuments and recommends that Trump revoke Biden’s proclamation.
At its conclusion, the memo finds that the Antiquities Act “permits a President to alter a prior declaration of a national monument, including by finding that the ‘landmarks,’ ‘structures,’ or ‘objects’ identified in the prior declaration either never were or no longer are deserving of the Act’s protections.”
According to the Los Angeles Times, US Senator Alex Padilla “questioned Interior Secretary Doug Burgum about the opinion, which he called ‘extremely dangerous.’”
Padilla also asked Burgum about his intentions toward the monuments, to which the secretary replied “We have a responsibility and direction to take a look at the recently created ones. There are people in communities, when we create restrictions on land use, that does restrict some of their economic opportunity, and we want to listen to those as well.”
It is not yet confirmed whether the Trump administration will make any rescissions or alterations to the monuments.
California Governor Gavin Newsom, who is currently feuding with President Trump over his deployment of the National Guard to Los Angeles to quell ICE riots, finds the possible monument changes “petty.”
“This is just getting petty. Grow up,” Newsom said in a response directed at Trump.
