New Interior Sec. David Bernhardt May Violate Trump's Ethics Rule on Lobbyists in His Administration
by mail@democracynow.org (Democracy Now!) from Democracy Now! on (#49726)
According to an ethics complaint Public Citizen filed recently with the Interior Department's ethics official and inspector general, President Trump's selection of David Bernhardt as secretary of the Interior Department appears to have violated Trump's executive order barring officials from working on any issues they had lobbied on in the two years prior to joining the administration. The complaint notes Bernhardt lobbied extensively on the Endangered Species Act, most recently on behalf of the Westlands Water District in 2016, when he reported lobbying on "potential legislation regarding the Bureau of Reclamation and the Endangered Species Act." We speak with Public Citizen President Robert Weissman.