Senator Hawley... introduced new legislation to block federal attempts to seize Missourians’ land.
Work to block federal attempts to seize Missourians' land.
Occurrences
Evidence
Hawley said he sent a letter to Energy Secretary Granholm and introduced new legislation to block federal attempts to seize Missourians' land after DOE proposed a transmission corridor across Missouri.
The bill text shows Hawley introduced S.3429, the Just Compensation Act of 2023, to bar delegation of eminent domain to private entities and require 150 percent fair market value compensation; the latest action was referral to the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Hawley wrote that Missouri landowners should not live in fear that their land may be subject to a federal takeover and asked DOE to extend the comment period and disclose the corridor location.
DOE announced it terminated its conditional commitment for the Grain Belt Express Phase 1 project after concluding the conditions needed for the guarantee were unlikely to be met.
DOE stated that the project's conditional commitment had been terminated and that a federal corridor designation is no longer being considered in Kansas or Missouri.
Assessments
Hawley made concrete federal-level efforts during the 2024 Senate campaign context to oppose federal land-seizure or corridor actions affecting Missouri landowners, including letters to DOE and introduction of S.3429. The specific federal threat tied to the Grain Belt Express was later withdrawn when DOE terminated the conditional commitment and stated the corridor designation was no longer being considered in Kansas or Missouri in July 2025, after Hawley began the new Senate term. Because the promise was framed as working to block federal attempts, and he materially advanced opposition before the later federal withdrawal, this counts as delivered with later_term timing rather than merely an effort-only partial.
Hawley promised to work against federal attempts to seize Missourians' land, a process-oriented federal Senate promise rather than a pledge to enact a specific statute. During the 2023-2024 campaign/term context, he introduced related legislation and sent letters pressing DOE over the proposed transmission corridor and alleged federal land-grab risk. The direct legislative vehicle did not pass, but DOE later terminated the Grain Belt Express conditional commitment and said the federal corridor designation was no longer being considered in Kansas or Missouri. Because Hawley materially advanced the opposition while in office and the targeted federal effort was withdrawn after his reelection, this counts as delivered with later_term timing.