FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, September 11, 2023
President Petersen Gives the Green Light for Arizona Senate to
File Lawsuit Against Biden Administration for Unconstitutional Land Grab
PHOENIX, ARIZONA— Senate President Warren Petersen is promising a legal battle against the Biden Administration in the wake of a dictator-style land grab last month in northern Arizona.
The blatantly unconstitutional move of confiscating nearly a million acres of land within Coconino and Mohave Counties to designate as a "national monument" is nothing more than a publicity stunt to appeal to his radical environmental base, while in tandem creating dire consequences for the livelihoods of our citizens, Arizona's economy, as well as our nation's energy supply.
President Petersen is directing attorneys to identify all citizens, industries and local governments impacted by this gross overreach and to create a coalition to further examine the detrimental effects President Biden's land grab is imposing on our state. A fact-finding phase is currently underway, with a goal of filing suit against the Biden Administration by the end of 2023 or early 2024.
"Our nation as a whole is suffering under the incompetence of the Biden Administration, and I will not sit back while he issues another unlawful executive order harming Arizonans," said President Petersen. "It's clear he has declared war on American energy production, as our citizens continue to feel the pain of $5 a gallon gas under his radical agenda. Now, he wants to cripple mining across the U.S. and further exacerbate our dependency on dangerous foreign nations for our energy supply, which will continue to drive up costs for taxpayers amid historic inflation."
"Using the guise of creating a 'Grand Canyon' national monument in a remote area that is not even connected to the Grand Canyon is completely disingenuous," said President Petersen. "This move has nothing to do with protecting the Grand Canyon. It has everything to do with fulfilling his tyrannic desires to block responsible mining and agriculture production in an effort cater to the extremists who elected him into office. I look forward to fighting on behalf of Arizona in court."
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For more information, contact:
Kim Quintero
Director of Communications | Arizona State Senate Republican Caucus
kquintero@azleg.gov