Nov 18, 2018
While President Donald Trump and Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke have both maintained that, at least for now, Zinke will remain in his post despite ongoing ethics probes, as rumors continue to mount that his days in the administration are numbered, so do concerns about his second-in-command, David Bernhardt.
"He is the guy behind the curtain who's manipulating everything."
--Jim Lyons, ex-Interior staffer
As the Interior Department's deputy secretary, Bernhardt would likely take the helm if Zinke resigns or is fired. Bernhardt worked his way up to serve as solicitor of the department during the George W. Bush administration.
After that, as the Washington Post reported Monday, he worked as a lobbyist for polluting industries--which means that now, he has "so many potential conflicts of interest he has to carry a small card listing them all."
\u201cBernhardt worked for years as a lobbyist representing many of the businesses he now regulates.\n\nHe walked into the No. 2 job at Interior with so many potential conflicts of interest he carries a small card listing them all. https://t.co/XBWauadrwt\u201d— The Washington Post (@The Washington Post) 1542646429
Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.)--a critic of the department's approach to California water issues, from which Bernhart had to recuse himself for a year--and others have called him "a walking conflict of interest."
"He is the guy behind the curtain who's manipulating everything, which he can do with his wealth of knowledge and experience," Jim Lyons, who served as deputy assistant secretary for land and minerals management under the Obama administration, told the Post.
As Jeff Turrentine of the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) warned last week, Bernhardt's "long Washington resume suggests that he would happily continue to carry out the Trump administration's war on public lands and federal waters--albeit with greater legal sophistication and fewer unforced ethical errors than his predecessor."
\u201cDavid Bernhardt\u2014the man who\u2019s likely to replace Ryan Zinke as Interior secretary\u2014could be much worse for the department. \n\nGet to know his pro-polluter background here: https://t.co/QDnmd7rbNE\u201d— NRDC \ud83c\udf0e\ud83c\udfe1 (@NRDC \ud83c\udf0e\ud83c\udfe1) 1542650433
But even as Zinke's No. 2, Bernhardt has played a key role in shaping policy. As the Post detailed:
In a year and a half, he has made it easier for federal authorities to approve drilling projects on land and offshore, has proposed narrowing habitat protections for endangered species, and is pushing California to divert more of its water from conservation to agricultural interests.
While Zinke drew headlines over multiple ethics investigations, Bernhardt focused on executing President Trump's vision to fuel the nation's energy production.
Already, the department has offered more than 17 million acres of federal lands for oil and gas leases.
Asked about calls for efforts to curb the global climate crisis, the Post reported that "Bernhardt said he had virtually no legal obligation to act--even though climate change is already raising global temperatures and Interior scientists warn it is harming land and key species under the department's control."
\u201cDavid Bernhardt, who lobbied for many oil and gas companies, also doesn't see any reason for @Interior to curb climate change\u201d— Corbin Hiar (@Corbin Hiar) 1542640545
He's been a guiding force behind the administration's efforts to overhaul the Endangered Species Act, bringing together Fish and Wildlife Service officials and political appointees to craft an a formal proposal. As the Post noted:
The proposed rule, if enacted, could mark the biggest change to federal endangered species policy in decades, making it easier for development to take place in imperiled species' habitats.
It would instruct the department, for the first time, to analyze the economic impact of listing a species. Critics say it would impose a major financial burden on the agency, and it would only trigger federal intervention if an action harms "the whole" of a species' key habitat, rather than just part of it.
Noah Greenwald, endangered species director for the advocacy group Center for Biological Diversity, described the proposal as "death by a thousand cuts."
"If Americans think they'll be getting a better secretary of the Interior once Zinke's out, they're sadly mistaken. They'll just be getting a shrewder one."
--Jeff Turrentine, NRDC
Various progressive groups have raised concerns about Bernhardt's goals at the department and conflicts of interest, given "his long history working as a lobbyist for Big Oil and Big Ag."
The Western Values Project, for example, has issued a report on his time at the department, filed records requests to gather more information about his service under Trump, and, in a lawsuit filed last month, alleged that his ex-clients "began receiving sudden and dramatic windfalls only months since his swearing in."
While acknowledging the lawsuit, Los Angeles Times columnist Michael Hiltzik concluded: "Bernhardt's putative conflicts all have the virtue of deniability. At least one or two steps separate Interior actions from benefits flowing to his former clients, so who can say that he's violating his explicit promises to recuse himself? But that deniability could make an Interior Secretary Bernhardt much more dangerous than the hapless Secretary Zinke."
Turrentine concurred, writing, "Zinke needs to go, but not just because of his shady real estate deals and pricey travel habits. He deserves to lose his job over what he's done to public lands such as Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante--shrinking their borders and imperiling sacred lands to appease industry--and to our federal waters, 90 percent of which he wants to open up to oil and gas drilling."
"But if Americans think they'll be getting a better secretary of the Interior once Zinke's out, they're sadly mistaken," he added. "They'll just be getting a shrewder one."
Join Us: News for people demanding a better world
Common Dreams is powered by optimists who believe in the power of informed and engaged citizens to ignite and enact change to make the world a better place. We're hundreds of thousands strong, but every single supporter makes the difference. Your contribution supports this bold media model—free, independent, and dedicated to reporting the facts every day. Stand with us in the fight for economic equality, social justice, human rights, and a more sustainable future. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover the issues the corporate media never will. |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
While President Donald Trump and Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke have both maintained that, at least for now, Zinke will remain in his post despite ongoing ethics probes, as rumors continue to mount that his days in the administration are numbered, so do concerns about his second-in-command, David Bernhardt.
"He is the guy behind the curtain who's manipulating everything."
--Jim Lyons, ex-Interior staffer
As the Interior Department's deputy secretary, Bernhardt would likely take the helm if Zinke resigns or is fired. Bernhardt worked his way up to serve as solicitor of the department during the George W. Bush administration.
After that, as the Washington Post reported Monday, he worked as a lobbyist for polluting industries--which means that now, he has "so many potential conflicts of interest he has to carry a small card listing them all."
\u201cBernhardt worked for years as a lobbyist representing many of the businesses he now regulates.\n\nHe walked into the No. 2 job at Interior with so many potential conflicts of interest he carries a small card listing them all. https://t.co/XBWauadrwt\u201d— The Washington Post (@The Washington Post) 1542646429
Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.)--a critic of the department's approach to California water issues, from which Bernhart had to recuse himself for a year--and others have called him "a walking conflict of interest."
"He is the guy behind the curtain who's manipulating everything, which he can do with his wealth of knowledge and experience," Jim Lyons, who served as deputy assistant secretary for land and minerals management under the Obama administration, told the Post.
As Jeff Turrentine of the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) warned last week, Bernhardt's "long Washington resume suggests that he would happily continue to carry out the Trump administration's war on public lands and federal waters--albeit with greater legal sophistication and fewer unforced ethical errors than his predecessor."
\u201cDavid Bernhardt\u2014the man who\u2019s likely to replace Ryan Zinke as Interior secretary\u2014could be much worse for the department. \n\nGet to know his pro-polluter background here: https://t.co/QDnmd7rbNE\u201d— NRDC \ud83c\udf0e\ud83c\udfe1 (@NRDC \ud83c\udf0e\ud83c\udfe1) 1542650433
But even as Zinke's No. 2, Bernhardt has played a key role in shaping policy. As the Post detailed:
In a year and a half, he has made it easier for federal authorities to approve drilling projects on land and offshore, has proposed narrowing habitat protections for endangered species, and is pushing California to divert more of its water from conservation to agricultural interests.
While Zinke drew headlines over multiple ethics investigations, Bernhardt focused on executing President Trump's vision to fuel the nation's energy production.
Already, the department has offered more than 17 million acres of federal lands for oil and gas leases.
Asked about calls for efforts to curb the global climate crisis, the Post reported that "Bernhardt said he had virtually no legal obligation to act--even though climate change is already raising global temperatures and Interior scientists warn it is harming land and key species under the department's control."
\u201cDavid Bernhardt, who lobbied for many oil and gas companies, also doesn't see any reason for @Interior to curb climate change\u201d— Corbin Hiar (@Corbin Hiar) 1542640545
He's been a guiding force behind the administration's efforts to overhaul the Endangered Species Act, bringing together Fish and Wildlife Service officials and political appointees to craft an a formal proposal. As the Post noted:
The proposed rule, if enacted, could mark the biggest change to federal endangered species policy in decades, making it easier for development to take place in imperiled species' habitats.
It would instruct the department, for the first time, to analyze the economic impact of listing a species. Critics say it would impose a major financial burden on the agency, and it would only trigger federal intervention if an action harms "the whole" of a species' key habitat, rather than just part of it.
Noah Greenwald, endangered species director for the advocacy group Center for Biological Diversity, described the proposal as "death by a thousand cuts."
"If Americans think they'll be getting a better secretary of the Interior once Zinke's out, they're sadly mistaken. They'll just be getting a shrewder one."
--Jeff Turrentine, NRDC
Various progressive groups have raised concerns about Bernhardt's goals at the department and conflicts of interest, given "his long history working as a lobbyist for Big Oil and Big Ag."
The Western Values Project, for example, has issued a report on his time at the department, filed records requests to gather more information about his service under Trump, and, in a lawsuit filed last month, alleged that his ex-clients "began receiving sudden and dramatic windfalls only months since his swearing in."
While acknowledging the lawsuit, Los Angeles Times columnist Michael Hiltzik concluded: "Bernhardt's putative conflicts all have the virtue of deniability. At least one or two steps separate Interior actions from benefits flowing to his former clients, so who can say that he's violating his explicit promises to recuse himself? But that deniability could make an Interior Secretary Bernhardt much more dangerous than the hapless Secretary Zinke."
Turrentine concurred, writing, "Zinke needs to go, but not just because of his shady real estate deals and pricey travel habits. He deserves to lose his job over what he's done to public lands such as Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante--shrinking their borders and imperiling sacred lands to appease industry--and to our federal waters, 90 percent of which he wants to open up to oil and gas drilling."
"But if Americans think they'll be getting a better secretary of the Interior once Zinke's out, they're sadly mistaken," he added. "They'll just be getting a shrewder one."
While President Donald Trump and Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke have both maintained that, at least for now, Zinke will remain in his post despite ongoing ethics probes, as rumors continue to mount that his days in the administration are numbered, so do concerns about his second-in-command, David Bernhardt.
"He is the guy behind the curtain who's manipulating everything."
--Jim Lyons, ex-Interior staffer
As the Interior Department's deputy secretary, Bernhardt would likely take the helm if Zinke resigns or is fired. Bernhardt worked his way up to serve as solicitor of the department during the George W. Bush administration.
After that, as the Washington Post reported Monday, he worked as a lobbyist for polluting industries--which means that now, he has "so many potential conflicts of interest he has to carry a small card listing them all."
\u201cBernhardt worked for years as a lobbyist representing many of the businesses he now regulates.\n\nHe walked into the No. 2 job at Interior with so many potential conflicts of interest he carries a small card listing them all. https://t.co/XBWauadrwt\u201d— The Washington Post (@The Washington Post) 1542646429
Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.)--a critic of the department's approach to California water issues, from which Bernhart had to recuse himself for a year--and others have called him "a walking conflict of interest."
"He is the guy behind the curtain who's manipulating everything, which he can do with his wealth of knowledge and experience," Jim Lyons, who served as deputy assistant secretary for land and minerals management under the Obama administration, told the Post.
As Jeff Turrentine of the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) warned last week, Bernhardt's "long Washington resume suggests that he would happily continue to carry out the Trump administration's war on public lands and federal waters--albeit with greater legal sophistication and fewer unforced ethical errors than his predecessor."
\u201cDavid Bernhardt\u2014the man who\u2019s likely to replace Ryan Zinke as Interior secretary\u2014could be much worse for the department. \n\nGet to know his pro-polluter background here: https://t.co/QDnmd7rbNE\u201d— NRDC \ud83c\udf0e\ud83c\udfe1 (@NRDC \ud83c\udf0e\ud83c\udfe1) 1542650433
But even as Zinke's No. 2, Bernhardt has played a key role in shaping policy. As the Post detailed:
In a year and a half, he has made it easier for federal authorities to approve drilling projects on land and offshore, has proposed narrowing habitat protections for endangered species, and is pushing California to divert more of its water from conservation to agricultural interests.
While Zinke drew headlines over multiple ethics investigations, Bernhardt focused on executing President Trump's vision to fuel the nation's energy production.
Already, the department has offered more than 17 million acres of federal lands for oil and gas leases.
Asked about calls for efforts to curb the global climate crisis, the Post reported that "Bernhardt said he had virtually no legal obligation to act--even though climate change is already raising global temperatures and Interior scientists warn it is harming land and key species under the department's control."
\u201cDavid Bernhardt, who lobbied for many oil and gas companies, also doesn't see any reason for @Interior to curb climate change\u201d— Corbin Hiar (@Corbin Hiar) 1542640545
He's been a guiding force behind the administration's efforts to overhaul the Endangered Species Act, bringing together Fish and Wildlife Service officials and political appointees to craft an a formal proposal. As the Post noted:
The proposed rule, if enacted, could mark the biggest change to federal endangered species policy in decades, making it easier for development to take place in imperiled species' habitats.
It would instruct the department, for the first time, to analyze the economic impact of listing a species. Critics say it would impose a major financial burden on the agency, and it would only trigger federal intervention if an action harms "the whole" of a species' key habitat, rather than just part of it.
Noah Greenwald, endangered species director for the advocacy group Center for Biological Diversity, described the proposal as "death by a thousand cuts."
"If Americans think they'll be getting a better secretary of the Interior once Zinke's out, they're sadly mistaken. They'll just be getting a shrewder one."
--Jeff Turrentine, NRDC
Various progressive groups have raised concerns about Bernhardt's goals at the department and conflicts of interest, given "his long history working as a lobbyist for Big Oil and Big Ag."
The Western Values Project, for example, has issued a report on his time at the department, filed records requests to gather more information about his service under Trump, and, in a lawsuit filed last month, alleged that his ex-clients "began receiving sudden and dramatic windfalls only months since his swearing in."
While acknowledging the lawsuit, Los Angeles Times columnist Michael Hiltzik concluded: "Bernhardt's putative conflicts all have the virtue of deniability. At least one or two steps separate Interior actions from benefits flowing to his former clients, so who can say that he's violating his explicit promises to recuse himself? But that deniability could make an Interior Secretary Bernhardt much more dangerous than the hapless Secretary Zinke."
Turrentine concurred, writing, "Zinke needs to go, but not just because of his shady real estate deals and pricey travel habits. He deserves to lose his job over what he's done to public lands such as Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante--shrinking their borders and imperiling sacred lands to appease industry--and to our federal waters, 90 percent of which he wants to open up to oil and gas drilling."
"But if Americans think they'll be getting a better secretary of the Interior once Zinke's out, they're sadly mistaken," he added. "They'll just be getting a shrewder one."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.