"President Trump’s pick for Interior Department secretary, former oil and gas lobbyist David Bernhardt, was approved by the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee by a 14-6 vote Thursday.

Several Democrats, including Sen. Joe Manchin III of West Virginia, joined 11 Republicans in passing Bernhardt’s nomination to the full Senate for a confirmation vote. If approved, Bernhardt would ascend from his current acting secretary role to take formal control of an agency that oversees 700 million acres of public land and the gas and mineral resources that lie beneath it.

Bernhardt’s ability to manage those resources without bias toward the oil industry and water utilities he once represented was questioned by skeptical Democrats on the committee as well as conservationists."

Darryl Fears reports for the Washington Post April 4, 2019. [2]

SEE ALSO:

"Bernhardt, Combs Clear Committee Bar" (Greenwire) [3]