Kevin Cramer Threatens Trump’s Nominations Over Conservation Policy That Inflamed Property Owners

August 20, 2026 11:03 AM ET Republican North Dakota Sen. Kevin Cramer put a hold on “any and all” of President Donald Trump’s nominees until the administration agrees to change a wetland conservation policy, his office confirmed to the Daily Caller News Foundation. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) abandoned its planned changes to a wetland conservation policy intended to protect waterfowl habitats, which prevents farmers from installing underground agricultural drainage tiles near protected federal easements. Cramer’s hold could delay the White House’s effort to install Project 2025 author Dennis Kirk as the next inspector general at the Interior Department and others nominated to serve at the Health and Human Services Department and the National Science Foundation, according to Po