In the several hours since President Donald Trump announced Ryan Zinke would be stepping down from his position as secretary of the Interior Department, critics\u2026<\/b>
\nIn the several hours since President Donald Trump announced Ryan Zinke would be stepping down from his position as secretary of the Interior Department, critics have launched an attack website against his likely replacement.
The Western Values Project (WVP), a left-leaning environmental organization, has launched www.davidbernhardt.org, a website that purportedly lists the conflicts of interest in David Bernhardt\u2019s past. Bernhardt is the current deputy secretary of the Interior, and will serve as acting secretary once Zinke leaves at the end of the year.
Bernhardt has a long history of working in the Interior Department, having served on and off since the George W. Bush administration. He has also worked as a lobbyist for oil and gas companies \u2014 work that WVP says makes him the \u201cultimate DC swamp creature.\u201d
\u201cThe bottom line is that Bernhardt is too conflicted to even be Acting Secretary,\u201d read a Saturday statement from Chris Saeger, the executive director of WVP. \u201cAt the very least the American public deserves to know more about the man behind the curtain who is actually running the show at Interior and could soon be fully responsible for managing our country\u2019s public lands, wildlife and natural resources.\u201d
WVP\u2019s hit site lists his time at Brownstein, Hyatt and Farber, a Washington-based lobbying firm. The website also claims his time working in the Bush administration was marred with scandal.
However, the criticism is nothing new from Saeger and WVP. The environmental group has long been an opponent of Zinke and the White House. In a November interview on Fox News, Zinke said WVP is an organization that \u201cthat pretends to be a 501(c)(3) and advocate group,\u201d and said that he would like to \u201csee their books\u201d and find out how they are funded.
Zinke released a statement on Saturday, citing \u201cfalse accusations\u201d for the reason of his departure.
Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke steps from Air Force One as U. S. President Donald Trump arrives in Salt Lake City, Utah, U. S., December 4,2017. REUTERS\/Kevin Lamarque.
[A]fter 30 years of public service, I cannot justify spending thousands of dollars defending myself and my family against false allegations,\u201d he said on Twitter . \u201cIt is better for the President and Interior to focus on accomplishments rather than fictitious allegations.\u201d
The secretary\u2019s tenure has been plagued by numerous scandals, having come under investigation by the Office of Special Counsel and the Department of the Interior inspector general at least 15 different times.
Should Bernhardt replace Zinke, the Interior Department would likely continue its current deregulation and \u201cenergy dominance\u201d agenda. Bernhardt also has made a name for himself as an extremely hard worker. When the deputy secretary was commuting into work one day in 2017, he choked on a McDonald\u2019s breakfast burrito, crashed into an apartment building, and still went into work later that day. (RELATED: Zinke Says Cost Of Fending Off \u2018False Allegations\u2019 Prompted Resignation)
Other Zinke replacements under consideration include Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, Nevada Sen. Dean Heller, Idaho Rep. Paul Labrador and other well-known Republicans.
Follow Jason on Twitter .
Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org .<\/p>\n