President Trump can abolish national monuments that were protected from energy development and other activities by past presidents, the Justice Department (DOJ) has determined.

The department issued a legal opinion this week that Trump can shrink or eliminate national monuments, overturning a 1938 opinion saying presidents did not have the power to abolish them.

“The Antiquities Act of 1906 permits a President to alter a prior declaration of a national monument, including by finding that the ‘landmarks,’ ‘structures,” or ‘objects’ identified in the prior declaration either never were or no longer are deserving of the........

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