U.S. Senate Confirms David Bernhardt as Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior

Key Takeaways

On April 11, the U.S. Senate voted 56-41 to confirm David Bernhardt as Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI). Prior to his confirmation, Sec. Bernhardt served as Deputy Secretary of the Interior under Secretary Ryan Zinke, becoming Acting Secretary in January 2019 after Sec. Zinke resigned. Secretary Bernhardt also served at DOI during the George W. Bush Administration from 2000-2009, including as the department’s solicitor.

As Secretary, Bernhardt will play a leading role in overseeing the roughly 500 million acres of public land under DOI’s jurisdiction. Nearly 62% of America’s counties contain federal public lands, and we rely on a strong partnership with federal land managers to ensure that our public lands counties remain strong, stable and economically vibrant.

Counties look forward to working with Secretary Bernhardt and DOI to address the priorities of America’s public lands counties and ensure that counties have a seat at the table throughout DOI’s decision making process.