In case you missed it, on Friday, Politico reported growing ethical concerns for David Bernhardt, the Deputy Secretary nominee at the Department of Interior. Bernhardt, an oil and gas lobbyist whose firm stands to gain millions from Bureau of Land Management rule changes, is now refusing to make key ethics disclosures. From Politico:

“Bernhardt said he would recuse himself from matters involving former clients for two years. But he would not say who those clients are or what business they may have before Interior, nor would he agree to regularly notify the committee of where he had recused himself.”

“David Bernhardt is one of the best examples of the revolving door Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke has opened up for lobbyists and special interests,” said Chris Saeger, Executive Director of the Western Values Project.  “Mr. Bernhardt presided over a scandal-ridden Bush-era Interior and cashed out that experience as a lobbyist for special interests. Despite his laundry list of conflicts of interest, he thinks the ethics rules don’t apply to him. As the Senate committee considers his nomination this week, it’s time to send the message that these ethics failures are not acceptable by voting no.”