Share
WASHINGTON — The Senate on Thursday confirmed acting Interior Secretary David Bernhardt to lead the department on a permanent basis, despite complaints by Democrats that the former oil and gas lobbyist has used his federal position to benefit former industry clients.
Bernhardt represented energy and agricultural interests until President Donald Trump picked him in April 2017 to be deputy secretary.
Bernhardt, who was confirmed to the No. 2 position in July 2017, says he has complied with all ethics laws and rules. But Democrats and environmental groups accuse him of using his federal post to shape regulations and legislation in favor of oil and gas interests and other former clients.
“The Zinke ethics hurricane was bad enough. America should not be harmed again by a Bernhardt ethical typhoon,” said Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore.
Citing figures from the Office of Government Ethics, Wyden said at least 27 former clients representing the oil and gas industry, coal, water districts and agriculture pose “unlimited numbers of conflicts of interest” for Bernhardt.
Dems Say Bernhardt has Worked to Weaken Endangered Species Act
“The interior secretary is supposed to be running (the department) for the benefit of the public, not for special interests,” Wyden said.
Wyden and other Democrats said Bernhardt has taken actions to weaken the Endangered Species Act, including erosion of protections for a California fish species long targeted by a former client, the Westlands Water District, one of the largest and most politically powerful water utilities in the country.
Critics also say Bernhardt has acted to ease regulations holding oil companies accountable for spills and increased drilling and mining access on millions of acres of public land used by the sage grouse, a threatened bird species.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski, an Alaska Republican who leads the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, said Bernhardt has the experience and expertise needed to lead the department.
“He is from the West, he has great familiarity with the issues that will come before him and he has proven that he can ably lead the department,” she said.
Murkowski linked ethics allegations against Bernhardt to unspecified, “pretty well-funded groups that are working very hard and very energetically against his nomination.”
Florida to be Excluded from Offshore Drilling
Democrats and environmental groups also criticized Bernhardt for failing to stand up to Trump on his proposal to drastically expand offshore drilling along the East and West Coasts, including off the coast of Florida, where a moratorium on offshore drilling expires in 2022.
Rubio said in a statement that the department cannot legally take Florida off the table until public comments are received. But, he said, “I am confident that when all is said and done the ban on oil drilling off of Florida’s coasts will remain in place.”
Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York said Bernhardt’s refusal to rule out offshore drilling in Florida “should be a wake-up call to my colleagues all up and down the coasts — Atlantic, Pacific, Gulf,” that offshore drilling is a possibility despite bipartisan opposition.
“It is hard to imagine someone whose background is so at odds with the department’s mission as Mr. Bernhardt,” Schumer said. “President Trump, for all his talk of draining the swamp, wants to add yet another Washington swamp creature lobbyist to his cabinet.”
Belarus Releases 3 People, Including an American and a Jailed Journalist
1 hour ago
Need Down Payment Help? Fresno Housing Has $25K for First-Time Homebuyers
1 hour ago
Pentagon’s New Media Rotation Program Boots NPR, NY Times, NBC News
2 hours ago
Bredefeld Wants Less Scrutiny for Supervisors’ Discretionary Budget. Pacheco Calls It ‘Ironic.’
2 hours ago
Senate Confirms Gabbard as Trump’s Director of National Intelligence
3 hours ago
President Trump and Putin Have Agreed to Start Negotiations to End the Ukraine War
4 hours ago
Google Calendar Users No Longer See Default Entries for Events Like Pride, Black History Month
4 hours ago
Apple Changes Gulf of Mexico to Gulf of America on Maps
4 hours ago
Kevin Durant Becomes 8th in NBA History to Score 30,000 Points
4 hours ago
The Deadly Truth: Record Number of Journalists Killed in 2024
42 minutes ago
Categories

The Deadly Truth: Record Number of Journalists Killed in 2024

CHP K-9 Seizes 50 Pounds of Illicit Mushrooms in Fresno County

Belarus Releases 3 People, Including an American and a Jailed Journalist

Need Down Payment Help? Fresno Housing Has $25K for First-Time Homebuyers

Pentagon’s New Media Rotation Program Boots NPR, NY Times, NBC News

Bredefeld Wants Less Scrutiny for Supervisors’ Discretionary Budget. Pacheco Calls It ‘Ironic.’

Senate Confirms Gabbard as Trump’s Director of National Intelligence
