Washington, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) released the following statement after the Department of Justice published a new legal opinion that could be used to override existing federal law to justify abolishing recently-established national monuments in California:
“The Trump Administration is seeking to rewrite the Antiquities Act without the approval of Congress and erase all precedent prohibiting the elimination of lands designated as a national monument. And, continuing his assault on the Golden State, the president seems to have at least two California treasures in mind: Chuckwalla and Sáttítla National Monuments.
“But the law is clear: Congress did not intend for the Antiquities Act to give Donald Trump or any other president the power to reverse the decades of hard work undertaken by conservationists, tribal leaders, and local California communities to safeguard precious lands and cultural sites.
“Chuckwalla and Sáttítla represent nearly one million acres of California’s natural beauty, preserved as national monuments to protect these critical lands and guarantee their enjoyment for future generations. They were properly designated as monuments and we will fight to protect them at all costs.”
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