Sen. Mike Lee wants to sell 2 million acres of public land to benefit the wealthy

Senate Republicans are rushing to complete work on President Donald Trump’s major spending package. Of the many moving pieces, a proposal included in the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee’s portion of the budget reconciliation bill stands out. If passed as written, it would make at least 250 million acres of public land available for sale, mandating at least 2 million of that be sold over the next five years.

The fire sale of public lands is something of a pet project from the committee’s chair, Utah Republican Sen. Mike Lee. Lee and other supporters argue that the provision would help alleviate the nation’s...