Rep. Rob Bishop is one of several Western Republicans rumored to be in the running to lead the Department of the Interior in the next administration, reports E&E News. A source close to the Trump campaign says the president-elect intends to “drain the swamp” in Washington and will be looking to fill his Cabinet with people who can “come in and solve the problems.”
E&E’s Robin Bravender:
Former George W. Bush administration Interior official David Bernhardt is leading Trump’s Interior transition team.
Idaho Republican Gov. Butch Otter is one possibility for [Interior Secretary]. The former Idaho congressman told E&E News in September that he would “be proud to serve in a Trump administration.”
Other Western Republican governors floated as possible picks include Wyoming’s Matt Mead, South Dakota’s Dennis Daugaard and New Mexico’s Susana Martinez.
Current and former Republican members of Congress who might be picked include Rep. Rob Bishop of Utah, chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee; Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan of Alaska; Oklahoma Sen. Jim Inhofe; Rep. Don Young of Alaska; retiring Wyoming Rep. Cynthia Lummis; and Idaho Sens. Mike Crapo and James Risch.
Other names floated include Tony Clark, a Republican commissioner on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission who was previously chairman of the North Dakota Public Service Commission, and Pruitt, the attorney general of Oklahoma.
