Sen. Orrin Hatch is “very confident” President Donald Trump will take action on rescinding the Bears Ears National Monument.
Hatch visited Utah’s Capitol Hill on Wednesday where he said the administration should start over on Bears Ears.
“We want some say in what happens in these areas. We as a delegation along with the governor were willing to work this out with the administration, but they just ignored us and went ahead with the monument anyway,” he said.
Hatch said a do-over on the monument would result in a better process.
“We’ll work on doing it the way it should be done, with the legislature, Congress, local people, so there’s a lot less antagonism. I think he will (rescind the monument), but we will have to see. I personally believe he’s going to help us resolve that problem.”
Hatch also was enthusiastic about Trump’s pick for the Supreme Court, Neil Gorsuch.
“With him, I believe we will get protection for religious liberty we might not have had for years. He does not believe in making the law what he wants it to be, he believes in interpreting the Constitution.”
In a separate interview with UtahPolicy.com, Hatch discussed the first month of the Donald Trump presidency. Hatch had nothing but praise for the new chief executive.
“He’s terrific. This is a guy who is indefatigable,” said Hatch. “I’ve never seen anyone work as hard as he does.”
As for the administration’s perceived ties to Russia, Hatch said he wasn’t too worried.
“I don’t find any fault with the president and his foreign policy staff dealing directly with Russia,” said Hatch. “In fact, it’s apparent that we’re going to have to have a relationship with Russia to stop them from doing some of the things they’ve been doing around the world, or at least get them to back off somewhat.”
And, Hatch said he’s not worried that a cozy relationship with Vladimir Putin would keep Trump from acting when he needs to.
“He’s the type of guy that, if Russia tries to pull things on our country, he’ll slam them. He won’t allow any of that. He’ll stand up for the country.”
Hatch urged Americans to give Trump a chance after just one month in office.
“He’s a leader. There’s no use kidding about it. As a leader, he’ll do some things that will cause you some angst, and he’ll do some things that will make you say it’s about time. I think it’s a little early to overly try to judge him right now.”
