David Bernhardt gained approval from the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Thursday for confirmation as Interior secretary.
Bernhardt advanced with 14 votes, including three Democrats. Six Democrats opposed his nomination to lead the agency due to his energy industry ties.
Republican chairwoman Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska said that Bernhardt is more qualified than Democrats allege and that allegations about his ethics are completely unfounded.
She said that recent news stories about old allegations about his background “contain no new information,” and that federal ethics officials have told her staff they are not being investigated.
Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., responding to the chairwoman, said Bernhardt has 27 ethics allegations against him, and every day there are new conflicts. He asked that the vote be delayed.
Wyden said that he believes Bernhardt lied under oath about suppressing a report on a pesticide, which he has asked the inspector general to investigate. He called for the vote to be suspended until the inspector general completes the requested report.
Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, the top Democrat on the committee, said Bernhardt is more than qualified to lead the agency, and spoke with him by phone earlier this week.
Manchin said they will hold Bernhardt to the highest ethical standards as secretary, and said he must work toward ethical and scientific integrity.
The committee also approved two lower-ranking nominees by voice vote: Susan Combs to be Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Policy, Management and Budget, and Aimee Kathryn Jorjani to be Chairwoman of the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation.
