Senate confirms ex-oil lobbyist Bernhardt as interior secretary

WASHINGTON — Former oil and gas lobbyist David Bernhardt was confirmed by the Senate on Thursday to lead the Interior Department, an agency that controls nearly half a billion acres of public land and the vast amount of oil and gas mineral resources beneath it.

The 56-41 vote promoted Bernhardt from acting secretary of the department, a job he assumed after his predecessor, Ryan Zinke, resigned amid numerous investigations into his behavior and management of the agency. Bernhardt had served as Zinke’s deputy until his departure in December.

Bernhardt’s extensive experience at the department, where he served as solicitor during President George W. Bush’s administration, was cited by his supporters who said he is more than qualified to lead the agency.

But his work as a lobbyist for the oil and gas industry in the West, as well as large water utilities, led to concerns about conflicts of interest. The Interior Department oversees 700 million acres of public lands and 1.7 billion acres offshore, and it works closely with some of Bernhardt’s former clients.

Bernhardt has so many potential conflicts of interest that he carries an index card listing companies and people he should avoid.

Democrats and conservation groups say Bernhardt has worked overtime to roll back key regulations protecting public lands and wildlife.

With Bernhardt acting as an influential deputy under Zinke, the Interior Department held oil and gas lease sales that resulted in more than a billion dollars in revenue for the national treasury. But the agency also weakened enforcement of the 100-year-old Migratory Bird Treaty Act, allowing individuals and companies to kill scores of protected birds so long as investigators determined that it was not intentional, reversing a long-standing rule.