PPT Responds to Elizabeth Klein Being Named BOEM Director

Today, Director of government watchdog Protect the Public’s Trust, Michael Chamberlain, released the following statement in response to the announcement of Elizabeth Klein as Director of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management at the Department of the Interior.

“We find it very interesting that Ms. Klein, who was unable to attain Senate confirmation to Deputy Secretary two years ago, was named to head one of the Department’s top energy posts, one which does not require Senate confirmation. Her history as a fervent opponent of oil and gas drilling hardly qualifies her as a neutral arbiter to develop our nation’s offshore resources. Protect the Public’s Trust and others still have a raft of unanswered questions regarding her ethics documents and her participation in matters involving her former clients while she was at the controversial Bloomberg-funded State Energy and Environmental Impact Center, which placed ‘fellows’ at state Attorneys General offices around the country to lead lawsuits against Interior and other government agencies. While the Biden Administration continually touts itself as the most ethical in history, this represents yet another example in which ethics takes a backseat to policy and politics.”

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