Zinke Torches Trump’s Land Grab Scheme, Exposes GOP Plot to Auction America’s Public Heritage to Billionaires

MAGA Congressman Ryan Zinke has turned on Donald Trump, declaring he will vote “no” on the disastrous “big, beautiful bill” that would auction off 1.2 million acres of public lands.

And the betrayal only deepens from there.

“I agree with my colleagues that the federal government has mismanaged federal lands for decades. But I don’t agree with their solution,” Zinke — who has faced his own corruption scandals — posted on X.

“The solution is not to sell public lands. I remain a no on the Senate reconciliation bill,” he added.

His refusal to fall in line behind Trump’s pet legislation has stunned MAGA diehards, especially since Zinke served as Interior Secretary during Trump’s first term. Many expected him to remain a loyal foot soldier for their movement.

With Republicans clinging to a razor-thin House majority, they can’t afford to lose more than three votes if they hope to ram through this bloated, deeply unpopular bill. Zinke’s defection is a major blow to Trump’s agenda.

In an interview with CNN, Zinke shredded Republican claims that selling public land would somehow promote affordable housing. In reality, the land would likely be snapped up by corporations and billionaires, robbing future generations of an irreplaceable inheritance.

“Affordable housing is tens of acres, not millions of acres,” Zinke pointed out bluntly.

Meanwhile, Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough has already rejected the initial proposal from MAGA Senator Mike Lee to sell off between 2.2 million and 3.3 million acres. Lee has since trimmed the figure to a still-appalling 1.2 million acres. It remains to be seen whether MacDonough will allow this revised scheme to proceed.

She absolutely must reject it.