President Trump signed two executive orders that will smooth the path for companies to build oil and gas pipelines and limit the tools states have to block them. Despite his clear conflicts, Zinke put him in charge of ripping apart the plans just to help those very industries that Bernhardt used to work for,” Jayson O’Neill, deputy director of the Western Values Project, a Montana-based nonprofit focused on public lands protections, said in a previous statement.

“David Bernhardt spent years in the private sector advancing policy goals of special interests who profit off our public lands. Democrats have called for an investigation of Bernhardt's pass conduct. Environmentalists have expressed concern that he will continue working to expand extraction operations on public lands and roll back protections. It's a post he has held on an acting basis since previous office holder Ryan Zinke resigned earlier in the year amid allegations of ethics misconduct.ĭemocrats had criticized Bernhardt's nomination in part because of his long history as a lobbyist for the energy and agribusiness sectors. Senate confirmed David Bernhardt as secretary of the interior on a 56-41 vote.

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