Trump plans to sell public land, reducing size of federal estate

Ari Natter, Bloomberg News on Nov 11, 2026

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The Trump administration has formally said it plans to sell public lands as part of a plan to reduce the size of the federal estate.

The Interior Department’s four-year strategic plan released Wednesday didn’t specify how much land it plans to sell or how the land would be priced. The department, which manages some 480 million acres, didn’t immediately respond to a request for more details.

“The Department will work to decrease the size of the federal estate by offering to states, localities and Tribes the opportunity to purchase federal lands,” the agency said in the document. “Through these sales, the Department will be able to focus its resources on primary federal responsibilities and nationally significant federal lands.”

The Interior Department alongside the Department of Housing and Urban Development has previously called for building housing on “underutilized” federal land. But the inclusion of the land sales marks the first time the agency has officially confirmed it wants to sell federal land, said Jayson O’Neill, a spokesman for Save Our Parks, a watchdog group. He pointed out Interior Secretary Doug Burgum has previously said selling public land wasn’t part of the Trump administration’s agenda.

“Doug Burgum just said the quiet part out loud, confirming that the Trump administration will work to sell off America’s shared public lands,” O’Neill said in an email.

Burgum, a former technology executive who served as North Dakota’s governor, has often talked about viewing the nation’s vast federal lands, and the oil, gas, and minerals contained within, as part of “America’s balance sheet,” worth trillions of dollars.

Congressional condemnation of the plan was swift. Democratic Senator Martin Heinrich, who is poised to lead the Senate energy committee next year, said he would oppose efforts to sell or privatize public lands.

“These lands belong to the American people, not private interests looking to cash in,” Heinrich said in a statement. “Public lands belong in public hands.”