FILE - In this Aug. 14, 2020, file photo, William Perry Pendley, acting director of the Bureau of Land Management, speaks to the media on the Grizzly Creek Fire in Eagle, Colo. A federal judge has ruled that the Trump administration's leading steward of public lands has been serving unlawfully and blocked him from continuing in the position. U.S. District Judge Brian Morris said Friday, Sept. 25, 2020, that U.S. Bureau of Land Management acting director William Perry Pendley was never confirmed to the post by the U.S. Senate and served unlawfully for 424 days. Montana's Democratic governor had sued to remove Pendley, saying the the former oil industry attorney was illegally overseeing a government agency that manages almost a quarter-billion acres of land, primarily in the U.S. West. (Chris Dillmann/Vail Daily via AP, File)
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