Today, the Senate voted 52-39 to confirm another conflict-ridden Trump administration nominee to a top-level post within Interior. Aurelia Skipwith will join the scandal-plagued department as the Director of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) despite — or perhaps because of — her close relationship to special interests, as well as her failure to disclose certain lobbying ties.
“Are conflicts of interest a prerequisite for being part of the Trump administration? Do political appointees have to be cozied up with industry and lobbyists to get the nod? It sure seems that way as President Trump and Interior Secretary Bernhardt add yet another former corporate lobbyist to the swamp team that is intent on running America’s outdoor heritage into the ground,” said Jayson O’Neill, Deputy Director of Western Values Project.
While Skipwith’s resume has raised critical questions about her qualifications for the post, more importantly, it is littered with ties to special interests. Skipwith also failed to disclose lobbying ties between her former employer, Gage International LLC, and their work on behalf of the powerful Westlands Water District — a former client of Interior Secretary David Bernhardt.
According to her publicly released calendars, Skipwith has been deeply involved in the administration’s rollback of habitat protections for the imperiled sage grouse. She also spoke at the oil and gas association Independent Petroleum Association of America’s (IPAA) regulators’ forum. IPAA is another former client of Interior Secretary Bernhardt’s, whose political director was caught on tape laughing about the connections and access they have within the Trump administration.
After joining FWS as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Fish, Wildlife and Park, Skipwith and FWS decided to rescind a ban on farms within national wildlife refuges using bee-killing pesticides – a move that proved highly favorable to Monsanto, Skipwith’s former employer. Skipwith’s only political campaign donation was made to the Trump campaign only two days after her nomination, raising additional questions about her ethical conduct.
Skipwith was originally nominated to lead FWS by scandal-ridden former Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke. Recently, 27 former FWS employees united in opposition to her nomination, critiquing her background, conflicts of interest, and experience. A full profile of Aurelia Skipwith is available on Western Values Project’s Department of Influence website, a one-stop-shop documenting the revolving door between special interest lobbyists and Trump’s Interior appointees.