Interior Watchdog Opens Ethics Probe Into Secretary Bernhardt

The Interior Department’s inspector general has opened an investigation into Secretary David Bernhardt, the agency’s watchdog confirmed in letters to congressional Democrats and ethics groups that requested the probe.

Bernhardt, a former energy and natural resources lobbyist who was confirmed to lead the Interior Department last week, has been accused of using his position to help former clients of his firm Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck LLP.

Government watchdog groups and lawmakers alleged that Bernhardt may have violated federal ethics rules by participating in matters he lobbied on in the two years before his appointment, specifically by participating in an evaluation ...