Trump Taps Oil Lobbyist For Secretary Of Interior

Reuters reports:

President Trump is picking David Bernhardt, a former energy lobbyist, to be the Interior Department’s next secretary. Bernhardt, whose past clients include oil companies and others with business before the Interior Department, became the agency’s deputy secretary in 2017 and has led the department on an interim basis since former Secretary Ryan Zinke resigned amid ethics scandals in January. Bernhardt was a lobbyist at the firm Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, where his clients included Eni Petroleum, Sempra Energy and the Westlands Water District.

I am pleased to announce that David Bernhardt, Acting Secretary of the Interior, will be nominated as Secretary of the Interior. David has done a fantastic job from the day he arrived, and we look forward to having his nomination officially confirmed!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 4, 2019