Former Interior Secretary Bernhardt Cashes in Yet Again, Selling Access to Corporate Clients
While Interior Secretary Doug Burgum focuses elsewhere, predecessor’s lobbying firm opens the Interior Department’s doors for corporate clients in mining and fossil fuel industries
WASHINGTON, D.C. — With $8.8 million in lobbying revenue from 53 clients in just three completed quarters of lobbying, former Interior Secretary David Bernhardt’s 1-year-old lobbying firm is cashing in on his access to the Department of the Interior, according to a new report released today by Public Citizen and Fieldnotes.
The firm, Bernhardt Group, has established itself as a for-hire shadow version of the Interior Department, easing access for mining executives, the oil and gas industry, mining companies, and agriculture interests to loot American public lands and put corporate interests ahead of public interest protections.
“While Interior Secretary Doug Burgum is busy defending Trump’s wars and assorted vanity projects in Washington, D.C., David Bernhardt and his colleagues have expanded their influence,” said Alan Zibel, research director with Public Citizen. “Bernhardt’s firm is essentially a for-hire shadow version of the Interior Department, stocked with former officials cashing in on their prior government employment by lobbying for corporate interests.”
At least 85% of Bernhardt Group’s revenue to date comes from clients whose businesses are heavily tied to the Interior Department. According to the report’s analysis of OpenSecrets lobbying data through April 30, Bernhardt’s firm has charged lobbying fees to corporate firms, including:
- 34% ($3 million) from the mining industry
- 23% ($2 million) from the oil and gas industry
- 12% ($1 million) from government agencies that provide water for big Western agriculture users
- 10% ($910,000) from agriculture and forestry companies
- 5% ($430,000) from renewables or mixed fossil fuel/renewables businesses.
“The influence of David Bernhardt’s lobbying firm on Doug Burgum’s Interior Department highlights a troubling dynamic that was present at the start of Trump’s first term and has only worsened since,” said Jesse Coleman, research director with Fieldnotes. “Lobbying firms with direct ties to Trump have seen phenomenal growth in income in recent years. These lobbying vendors have learned how to play the full game of influence peddling.”
The report digs into Interior Department visitor logs for 2025 and found 33 visits by Bernhardt Group staffers, finding:
- 15 meetings with Interior Department officials, Bernhardt Group lobbyists and/or clients, law/lobbying firms
- 16 meetings with Bernhardt Group lobbyists and alone or unidentifiable visitors
- Two visits by David Bernhardt himself
Read the full report here.
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