OAN Staff Abril Elfi
12:26 PM – Wednesday, June 11, 2025
The Department of Justice (DOJ) has stated that President Donald Trump has the right to cancel national monuments established by former President Joe Biden.
The announcement follows after former President Joe Biden previously established the Chuckwalla National Monument and the Sáttítla Highlands National Monument in the final days of his presidency.
According to Reuters, the president did so to protect hundreds of thousands of acres of land in California as Chuckwalla National Monument protects over 624,000 acres, while the Sáttítla Highlands National Monument protects 224,000 acres.
The DOJ’s recently announced legal opinion reversed a 1938 determination that presidents did not have the power to abolish monuments designated by previous presidents under the Antiquities Act of 1906. Deputy Assistant Attorney General Lanora Pettit argued in the opinion that “for the Antiquities Act, the power to declare carries with it the power to revoke.”
According to a report by the Associated Press, Trump reduced the size of Bears Ears and Grand Staircase Escalante National Monuments in Utah during his first term — however, Biden restored them after taking office.
Pettit stated that Biden’s designation of the additional monuments was part of a bigger endeavor to leave an environmental legacy for himself. She also appeared to dismiss Biden’s justifications for designating the locations as national monuments, which included the establishment of more outdoor recreational areas such as biking, hiking, hunting, and camping.
“Such activities are entirely expected in a park, but they are wholly unrelated to (if not outright incompatible with) the protection of scientific or historical monuments,” Pettit wrote.
There is no clear indication of when or if Trump will abolish the designation of Biden’s two sites, or any other monuments.
When asked about the perspective, White House spokesperson Harrison Fields stated that the need to “liberate our federal lands and waters to oil, gas, coal, geothermal, and mineral leasing” exists.
Stay informed! Receive breaking news blasts directly to your inbox for free. Subscribe here. https://www.oann.com/alerts