Zinke’s Departure Puts Interior In Hands Of Former Oil Lobbyist

A former lobbyist who has played a leading, behind-the-scenes role at the Interior Department driving Trump administration policies to expand drilling and strip wildlife protections is poised to take over the agency at least temporarily. David Bernhardt is expected to be named acting Interior secretary by President Donald Trump, following the resignation of current chief Ryan Zinke, which was announced Saturday. The leadership shuffle may be more of a change in style than substance at Interior, an $11 billion agency with some 70,000 workers and responsibility overseeing drilling, grazing and other activities on public land and in federal waters.