Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Westlands Former Lobbyist Confirmed to Head Interior Department
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 6 years ago on
April 11, 2019

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.

“The Zinke ethics hurricane was bad enough. America should not be harmed again by a Bernhardt ethical typhoon.”Sen. Ron Wyden
The Senate voted 56-41 to approve Bernhardt’s nomination to oversee the country’s public lands and resources. He succeeds Ryan Zinke, who resigned in January amid a series of ethics investigations.
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.

“It is hard to imagine someone whose background is so at odds with the department’s mission as Mr. Bernhardt. President Trump, for all his talk of draining the swamp, wants to add yet another Washington swamp creature lobbyist to his cabinet.” — Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer
Florida Republican Sens. Marco Rubio and Rick Scott voted in favor of Bernhardt after receiving assurances from him and other administration officials that Florida would be excluded from drilling proposals.
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.”

DON'T MISS

The Deadly Truth: Record Number of Journalists Killed in 2024

DON'T MISS

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

DON'T MISS

Saint Agnes to Expand Teaching for Clovis Med School Students

DON'T MISS

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

DON'T MISS

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

DON'T MISS

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

DON'T MISS

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

DON'T MISS

Senate Confirms Gabbard as Trump’s Director of National Intelligence

DON'T MISS

President Trump and Putin Have Agreed to Start Negotiations to End the Ukraine War

DON'T MISS

Google Calendar Users No Longer See Default Entries for Events Like Pride, Black History Month

UP NEXT

Apple Changes Gulf of Mexico to Gulf of America on Maps

UP NEXT

California’s FAIR Plan Needs $1B for Wildfire Claims, Costs Passed to Policyholders

UP NEXT

California Man Calls 375 Hoax Threats in Swatting Spree Will Face Prison Time

UP NEXT

Red, White, and Blueland? GOP Congressman Proposes Bill to Rename Greenland

UP NEXT

White House Bars AP Reporter From Oval Office Because of AP Style Policy on ‘Gulf of America’

UP NEXT

Californians Picked Up in Recent ICE Raids Include Kids and Volunteers

UP NEXT

Denmark Wants to Buy California? Online Petition Hits 200,000 Signatures

UP NEXT

Russia Has Released Detained American Teacher Marc Fogel, the White House Says

UP NEXT

Facing Backlash Over $500K Salary, LA’s Wildfire Recovery Czar Agrees to Work for Free

UP NEXT

Canned Tuna Sold at Trader Joe’s, Costco, H-E-B Recalled for Botulism Risk

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

Too Few Tents Entering Gaza Threatens the Truce. Here’s What’s Happening

4 hours ago

The Deadly Truth: Record Number of Journalists Killed in 2024

Last year marked a grim milestone for journalists worldwide. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), 2024 was the deadliest...

42 minutes ago

42 minutes ago

The Deadly Truth: Record Number of Journalists Killed in 2024

A CHP K-9 seized 50 pounds of illicit mushrooms worth $80,000 during a traffic stop on I-5 in Fresno County, leading to the arrest of Phillip Yoon, 35, of Hayward. (CHP)
1 hour ago

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

1 hour ago

Saint Agnes to Expand Teaching for Clovis Med School Students

1 hour ago

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

2 hours 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.’

Tulsi Gabbard, President Donald Trump's choice to be the Director of National Intelligence, arrives to appear before the Senate Intelligence Committee for her confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025, in Washington. (AP/John McDonnell)
3 hours ago

Senate Confirms Gabbard as Trump’s Director of National Intelligence

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend