By Daniel Stefanski |
Arizona Republicans are going to court yet again.
On Monday, the Arizona State Senate Republican Caucus announced that President Warren Petersen and House Speaker Ben Toma had filed a lawsuit against the Biden Administration’s “unlawful, dictator-style land grab last summer in northern Arizona.” The challenge, which “attempts to reverse Biden’s confiscation of nearly a million acres of land within Coconino and Mohave Counties,” was launched in the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona.
Back in August 2023, President Joe Biden visited Arizona to establish the Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni – Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument. In his signed proclamation, Biden stated, “Protecting the areas to the northeast, northwest, and south of the Grand Canyon will preserve an important spiritual, cultural, prehistoric, and historic legacy; maintain a diverse array of natural and scientific resources; and help ensure that the prehistoric, historic, and scientific value of the areas endures for the benefit of all Americans.”
“This federal confiscation promises to wreak havoc on our local and state economies, jeopardize the livelihoods of our citizens, and compromise national security, all in an attempt to score cheap political points with radical environmentalists,” said President Petersen. “Biden’s maneuver is incredibly disingenuous, as it has nothing to do with protecting actual artifacts. Instead, it aims to halt all mining, ranching, and other local uses of federal lands that are critical to our energy independence from adversary foreign nations, our food supply, and the strength of our economy.”
Petersen highlighted the lack of defense against Biden’s executive overreach from the state’s Democrat attorney general, which has been a common refrain from legislative Republicans over the past few months. He said, “Needless to say, I’m incredibly disappointed our Attorney General has once again failed to carry out the duties of her office in defending our state against this reckless federal overreach and is instead showing her complicity with Biden’s extremist agenda. Nonetheless, we look forward to prevailing in court and for the president’s abuse of power to be reined in.”
Arizona Treasurer Kimberly Yee, another Republican, also joined in the lawsuit. According to a press release sent from her office, Yee signed on “as she is responsible for the receipt and investment of all revenue from Arizona state trust land.”
In a statement that accompanied her announcement, Yee said, “We must protect the value of state trust lands for the future of Arizona. This unlawful land grab by the Biden Administration will directly affect Arizona’s economy and the livelihoods of our citizens. The Federal Government needs to compensate the permanent school fund for the tens of thousands of trust land parcels left economically isolated by the stroke of the pen by President Biden. This big hand of government will hurt our K-12 education beneficiaries the most.”
Yee added, “The suit affirms that Congress passed the Antiquities Act to protect just that: antiquities. It did not pass the law to allow the Biden Administration to declare every inch of federal land a monument.”
Mohave County and the towns of Colorado City and Fredonia also joined the Arizona Legislature and the Treasurer’s Office in the lawsuit.
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
