David Bernhardt Biography
David Bernhardt is an American attorney, former lobbyist and government administrator who is serving as United States Interior Secretary.
He is a partner and shareholder at the Colorado law firm Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, he began working for the U.S Department of the Interior in 2001.
On April 28, 2017, President Donald Trump nominated him to be the United States Deputy Secretary of the Interior. He was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on July 24, 2017. He was then sworn into office on August 1, 2017.
Bernhardt became Acting Secretary of the Interior on January 2, 2019, replacing Ryan Zinke. On February 4th, 2019, David was nominated by President Donald Trump to head the interior ministry.
David Bernhardt Education
Bernhardt graduated with a bachelor’s degree from the University of Northern Colorado in 1990. While at the university, he applied for and received an internship at the Supreme Court of the United States.
He is an honors graduate from the George Washington University Law School in 1994. Later that year, he was admitted to the Colorado Bar Association.
David Bernhardt Career
As he was Growing up in Rifle, Colorado, Bernhardt was active in Colorado politics from the age of sixteen. For example, when he made his case to the Rifle City Council to not levy taxes on arcade games at a teen center.
Early legal career
David started his career as a lawyer in Colorado. Early in the 1990s, he worked for U.S. Representative Scott McInnis. Later in 1998, he became an associate with Brownstein Hyatt and Farber, a Denver law and lobbying firm.
David Bernhardt Department of the Interior Solicitor
Bernhardt began working for the United States Department of the Interior (DOI) in 2001. Early in his career with the DOI, he was deputy chief of staff and counselor to Gale Norton who was then-Secretary of the Interior.
David also served early on at the DOI as director of congressional and legislative affairs. Later David became a solicitor at the DOI after unanimous confirmation from the United States Senate. He also served as United States Commissioner to the International Boundary Commission, U.S., and Canada.
David served as Solicitor of the United States Department of the Interior from 2006 to 2009. President Bush nominated him in November 2005, subject to Senate confirmation. He was deputy solicitor at the time. Bernhardt was sworn into office in November 2006. This was after being unanimously confirmed by the Senate.
David Bernhardt Legal work and lobbying
David served as DOI Solicitor until 2009. That same year he rejoined the Colorado-based law firm Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck. David became a shareholder in the firm and chairman of the firm’s natural resources law practice. David’s clients included Halliburton, Cobalt International Energy, Samson Resources, and the Independent Petroleum Association of America.
Through Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, David represented San Joaquin Valley’s Westlands Water District in “a lawsuit that sought to stop court-imposed protections for endangered salmon in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.” David Bernhardt also represented entities such as the proposed Rosemont Copper open-pit mine in Arizona.
5246Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck represented other mining, oil, and extractive industries, as well as projects such as the Cadiz, Inc. groundwater pumping project in the Mojave Desert in California. Cadiz Inc. later refuted that David Bernhardt had lobbied directly for the company, though environmentalists at the non-profit Center for Biological Diversity suspected David’s involvement when the DOI changed its views to be positive towards the project in March 2017.
In 2011, David filed a lawsuit for Westlands that “sought to force the feds to make good on a commitment to build a multibillion-dollar system to dispose of the poisoned water” resulting from toxic irrigation in the Westlands. Later, through the bill HR 1769(2017),
Westlands agreed to drop the lawsuit in exchange for forgiven debt and long-term access to water from Central Valley Project facilities. In April 2017, the House Natural Resources Committee approved the settlement but rejected an amendment that would have “barred former Westlands officials or lobbyists — meaning David Bernhardt — from working on the drainage issue for five years.
David Bernhardt DOI Transition Team
Until the end of 2016, he remained an attorney and lobbyist for the San Joaquin Valley’s Westlands Water District. In the same year, David de-listed himself as a lobbyist, to avoid “running afoul of the new president’s ban on lobbyists joining his administration.” After his withdrawal as a formal registration as a lobbyist, David Bernhardt became a consultant to the Westlands Water District.
From November 2016 Bernhardt was briefly in charge of the Interior Department transition team for President Donald Trump. He was in charge of overseeing staffing in the DOI along with David Nunes. Before January 2017, he served on the board of directors for the Virginia Board of Game and Inland Fisheries, resigning prior to January 2017. By April this year, he was on a $20,000-a-month retainer for Westlands.
Until his resignation in early 2017, he was on the board of the Center for Environmental Science Accuracy and Reliability.
David Bernhardt Deputy Secretary of the Interior
On April 28th, 2017, David Bernhardt was nominated by President Trump to be the United States Deputy Secretary of the Interior.
On July 24, 2017, the U.S Senate confirmed David Bernhardt’s nomination by a vote of 53–43. He was then sworn into office on August 1, 2017.
During his tenure as Deputy Secretary and Acting Secretary, the Department of the Interior has considerably increased fossil fuel sales on public land. They have also embarked on a program of deregulation. on February 5th, 2019 was nominated by the Trump administration to head the ministry of interior.
David Bernhardt Age
Bernhardt was born on August 17th, 1969, in Rifle, Colorado, United States.
David Bernhardt Wife
Bernhardt lives in Arlington, Virginia, with his wife Gena and two children. David Bernhardt is a hunter and angler.
David Bernhardt Body Measurements
- Height: Not Available
- Weight: Not Available
- Shoe Size: Not Available
- Body Shape: Not Available
- Hair Colour: Light Brown
David Bernhardt Net Worth
Bernhardt’s net worth is under review.
Frequently Asked Questions About David Bernhardt
Who is Bernhardt?
David is an American attorney, serving as United States Interior Secretary.
How old is Bernhardt?
David is 50 years old as of 2019. He was born on August 17, 1969.
How tall is Bernhardt?
David’s height is not known.
Is Bernhardt married?
David is married to Gena Bernhardt.
How much is Bernhardt worth?
Bernhardt’s net worth is under review.
How much does Bernhardt make?
It is not know how much money Bernhardt earns as the 53rd United States Secretary of the Interior.
Where does Bernhardt live?
He resides in Arlington, Virginia, U.S.
Is Bernhardt dead or alive?
He is still alive and in good health.
Where is Bernhardt now?
David works as the 53rd United States Secretary of the Interior.
David Bernhardt Twitter
Tweets by SecBernhardt