The Landscape Weaponizing the Congressional Review Act against America’s public lands
Feb 6, 2026
Steve Bloch, legal director at the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance and public lands lawyer, explains how Congress is using the Congressional Review Act to upend resource and monument management. He discusses GAO rulings that reclassify land plans as rules, the lack of time limits for repeal, and how sudden rollbacks create legal chaos and uncertainty for tribes, ranchers, industry, and conservationists.
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
How The CRA Sidesteps The Senate Filibuster
- The Congressional Review Act lets Congress overturn agency rules with a simple majority and sidestep the Senate filibuster.
- Steve Bloch explains CRA's power comes from an expedited process that requires only majorities in both chambers, not cloture in the Senate.
GAO Reclassification Enables CRA Attacks
- GAO opinions now treat BLM and Forest Service resource management plans as "rules," enabling CRA attacks even though agencies never treated plans as rules.
- Steve Bloch calls GAO's analysis contorted but legally unchallengeable, creating a new pathway for repeal.
CRA Can Reach Back Indefinitely
- Because RMPs weren't submitted to GAO originally, there was no CRA time clock — now Congress can potentially undo plans from years or decades ago.
- Bloch warns this removes temporal limits and allows retroactive CRA repeal of longstanding plans.
