Washington, D.C. – Ahead of today’s cloture vote on the nomination of David Bernhardt to be Deputy Secretary of the Interior, Tiernan Sittenfeld, League of Conservation Voters’ Senior Vice President for Government Affairs, released the following statement:

“Secretary Zinke claimed he would follow in the footsteps of Teddy Roosevelt, but in his first few months at the helm of Interior, all he has done is attempt to sacrifice our treasured national monuments and public lands to oil companies. Now he wants one of the industry’s top lobbyists, David Bernhardt, to join him in this atrocious mission. Bernhardt’s long list of conflicts of interest alone should be disqualifying – but given the Trump administration’s incredible disregard for integrity, science and facts, it’s no surprise that a top nominee would have a record of altering government science for political gain and overseeing an office plagued by scandal. We strongly urge senators to oppose Bernhardt’s nomination and will continue to hold Congress and the administration accountable for putting polluter profits ahead of our clean air, clean water, public lands and families’ health.”

In a letter last month urging senators to oppose Bernhardt’s nomination, LCV outlined several of the nominee’s conflicts of interest and deep ties to the oil and gas industry, as well as ethical shortcomings during his previous service at DOI.