Republicans urge Supreme Court to review Antiquities Act, claiming Obama overstepped authority on federal land management.

House and Senate Republicans are urging the Supreme Court to review the Antiquities Act, claiming that former President Barack Obama “usurped Congress’s authority” to manage federal lands. The Republican lawmakers argue that this interpretation of the Act violates constitutional separation powers and could lead to future presidents using it to subvert conservation mandates imposed by Congress. The dispute centers on whether the 1906 act can alter the status of lands under a separate federal statute in Oregon and California. Plaintiffs argue that Obama did not have the authority to alter timberlands added to the monument and that the current application creates “untethered presidential authority” over federal lands, a violation of Congress’s Property Clause power.