Watchdog Highlights Massive Potential Conflicts of Interior’s #2 Official

How will Tommy Beaudreau lead an initiative that presents so many potential conflicts?

Today, Protect the Public’s Trust (PPT), a federal government watchdog, released a video highlighting the massive potentials conflicts of Deputy Secretary of the Interior Tommy Beaudreau. Ethical concerns around Beaudreau, who was confirmed as the agency’s number two official on June 17, 2021, have been the subject of scrutiny from such venues as the Center for Biological Diversity, Mother Jones and the Washington Post. With the extent of potential conflicts posed by his former clients in the offshore wind industry, the American public needs to know how he can lead initiatives in the sector while still adhering to federal ethics rules and the Biden Ethics Pledge. 

“As Tommy Beaudreau makes yet another pass through the DC revolving door, a number of questions arise,” Michael Chamberlain, Director of Protect the Public’s Trust, said. “The American public rightly demands that high-ranking government officials serve the public interest not their former clients. With the depth and breadth of Mr. Beaudreau’s entanglements with offshore wind firms, we all have to wonder how he will be able to lead the Department’s work while still fulfilling his ethics obligations.”