Acting Interior Secretary David Bernhardt will likely be confirmed in the Senate

[Beringia]

https://www.rollcall.com/news/congress/bernhardt-nears-confirmation-capitol-hill-isnt-finished

Acting Interior Secretary David Bernhardt will likely be confirmed in the Senate by a comfortable margin this week — but that could be his easiest day on Capitol Hill for a while.

The Senate voted 56-41 Wednesday evening to end debate on the nomination after Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said earlier in the day that he expected the chamber to be “voting to confirm” Bernhardt “later this week.” And while some coastal Republicans have raised concerns about the Interior Department’s plans for opening all U.S. coasts to oil and gas drilling, there doesn’t appear to be enough GOP opposition to derail confirmation.





Center for Biological Diversity
https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/news/press_releases/2019/david-bernhardt-03-26-2019.php

WASHINGTON— More than 160 conservation groups sent a letter to U.S. senators today urging them to oppose the nomination of fossil fuel lobbyist David Bernhardt as Interior secretary, citing his efforts to enrich corporations at the expense of the environment.

Bernhardt's confirmation hearing is set for Thursday before the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.

“He consistently puts private profit above the public interest, crafting policies to benefit past clients and rolling back longstanding rules to protect habitat, imperiled species and public health,” the letter says. “David Bernhardt’s conflicts of interest, industry ties and questionable judgment make him ill-suited to lead the Department, and his confirmation would place our most cherished natural and cultural resources at even greater risk.”