Statement from Daniel Stevens, Executive Director of Campaign for Accountability, on the nomination of David Bernhardt for the position of Secretary of the Department of the Interior:

“Ryan Zinke’s resignation was a welcome development, but President Trump should replace him with someone who can follow the Department’s mission to uphold the public’s trust.  David Bernhardt, like his predecessor, has left a trail of ethics problems in his wake.  As we pointed out in 2017, Bernhardt, a former lobbyist, continued to lobby for a client despite formally withdrawing his lobbying registration, an apparent violation of the Lobbying Disclosure Act.  Bernhardt’s lobbying career is so problematic that he has to carry around a notecard listing all of his potential conflicts of interest.  The Department of the Interior needs a better steward than someone who’s still acting like a natural gas lobbyist.”

 

Campaign for Accountability is a nonpartisan, nonprofit watchdog organization that uses research, litigation, and aggressive communications to expose misconduct and malfeasance in public life and hold those who act at the expense of the public good accountable for their actions.