President Trump announced Monday that his choice to serve as head of the Interior Department is David Bernhardt, a former lobbyist who has been leading the agency on an acting basis.
“David has done a fantastic job from the day he arrived, and we look forward to having his nomination officially confirmed!” Trump tweeted.
A Trump administration official told the Washington Examiner that White House Acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney broke the news to Bernhardt with a phone call just before the president tweeted.
Bernhardt has been serving as acting secretary since Ryan Zinke resigned from the Cabinet post earlier this year amid an ethics investigation
It’s a humbling privilege to be nominated to lead a Department whose mission I love, to accomplish the balanced, common sense vision of our President. https://t.co/4qKc66CGE6
— Acting Secretary David Bernhardt (@DOIDepSec) February 4, 2019
Bernhardt had been confirmed by the Senate to serve as Zinke’s deputy secretary. The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee will have to re-look at his nomination at a yet-to-be-announced hearing, before the full Senate can vote on his appointment as secretary.
In his Interior role, observers say Bernhardt has been leading the day-to-day policymaking process at the agency, specifically focusing on easing permitting processes and environmental reviews to open more federal land to oil and gas drilling, and reforming endangered species protections to make the law less cumbersome and restrictive to developers. Supporters say he would be the most experienced Interior secretary ever.
“It’s a brilliant move,” Rep. Rob Bishop of Utah, the top Republican of the House Natural Resources Committee. “No one is more experienced and I look forward to working with him.”
Bernhardt has been criticized for his ties to the fossil fuel industry. Environmental groups and Democrats have vowed to fight his nomination.
“This administration has lost the benefit of the doubt, thanks in no small part to Ryan Zinke’s failed tenure at the Interior Department,” Rep. Raul Grijalva of Arizona, chairman of the Natural Resources Committee, said in a statement. “We expect Mr. Bernhardt to right the ship and will act in his absence if he doesn’t.”
In recent weeks, Bernhardt has softened his tone a bit as acting secretary, announcing plans to reverse course and advance a major offshore wind project during the government shutdown.
The announcement came after Democrats and environmental groups accused the Trump administration of favoring the oil and gas industry during the shutdown.
