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U.S. Department of the Interior
| Department of the Interior | |
| Secretary: | David Bernhardt |
| Year created: | 1849 |
| Official website: | DOI.gov |
The Department of the Interior is a United States executive department established in 1849. The department was formed to protect and manage the nation's natural resources and cultural heritage.[1]
David Bernhardt is the current U.S. secretary of the interior. He assumed the role as acting secretary on January 2, 2019, when former Secretary Ryan Zinke resigned. Trump formally nominated Bernhardt to the position on March 11, 2019, and the U.S. Senate confirmed him on April 11, 2019, on a 56-41 vote.[2]
The department oversees various federal agencies including: the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), U.S. Bureau of Land Management, the U.S. National Park Service (NPS), the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the U.S. Geological Survey.[3]
On April 3, 2019, the U.S. Senate voted 51-48 in favor of a change to chamber precedent lowering the maximum time allowed for debate on executive nominees to posts below the Cabinet level and on nominees to district court judgeships from 30 hours after invoking cloture to two.[4]
The change was passed under a procedure, often referred to as the nuclear option, that requires 51 votes rather than 60.[5]
It was the third use of the nuclear option in Senate history. In 2013, it was used to eliminate the 60-vote threshold to confirm presidential nominees, except those to the Supreme Court. In 2017, it was used to eliminate the 60-vote threshold required to confirm Supreme Court nominees.[6] For more, see Filibuster and reconciliation in the United States Congress.
History
The Office of the Interior was formed in 1849 to protect and manage the nation’s natural resources and cultural heritage. The following is a list of important dates in the department's history:[7]
- 1869: Hayden expedition began geological survey of Western territories
- 1872: Yellowstone National Park established by Congress
- 1879: U.S. Geological Survey established
- 1903: First National Wildlife Refuge established at Pelican Island, Florida
- 1916: National Park Service established by President Woodrow Wilson
- 1940: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service created from agency merging
- 1982: Minerals Management Service established for mineral revenue collection and offshore land management
Mission
The Department of the Interior website states the mission:
| “ | The Department of the Interior protects and manages the Nation’s natural resources and cultural heritage; provides scientific and other information about those resources; and honors its trust responsibilities or special commitments to American Indians, Alaska Natives, and affiliated island communities.[8] | ” |
| —Department of the Interior[1] | ||
Leadership
David Bernhardt is the current secretary of the Interior.
| Secretaries of the Interior Full History | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Secretary of the Interior | Years in office | Nominated by | Confirmation vote | |||||
| Thomas Ewing | 1849-1850 | Zachary Taylor | ||||||
| Thomas M.T. McKennan | 1850-1850 | Millard Fillmore | ||||||
| Alexander H.H. Stuart | 1850-1853 | Millard Fillmore | ||||||
| Robert McClelland | 1853-1857 | Franklin Pierce | ||||||
| Jacob Thompson | 1857-1861 | James Buchanan | ||||||
| Caleb B. Smith | 1861-1862 | Abraham Lincoln | ||||||
| John P. Usher | 1863-1865 | Andrew Johnson | ||||||
| James Harlan | 1865-1866 | Andrew Johnson | ||||||
| Orville H. Browning | 1866-1869 | Andrew Johnson | ||||||
| Jacob D. Cox | 1869-1870 | Ulysses S. Grant | ||||||
| Columbus Delano | 1870-1875 | Ulysses S. Grant | ||||||
| Zachariah Chandler | 1875-1877 | Ulysses S. Grant | ||||||
| Carl Schurz | 1877-1881 | Rutherford B. Hayes | ||||||
| Samuel J. Kirkwood | 1881-1882 | James Garfield | ||||||
| Henry M. Teller | 1882-1885 | Chester A. Arthur | ||||||
| Lucius Q.C. Lamar, II | 1885-1888 | Grover Cleveland | ||||||
| William F. Vilas | 1888-1889 | Grover Cleveland | ||||||
| John W. Noble | 1889-1893 | Benjamin Harrison | ||||||
| M. Hoke Smith | 1893-1896 | Grover Cleveland | ||||||
| David R. Francis | 1896-1897 | Grover Cleveland | ||||||
| Cornelius N. Bliss | 1897-1899 | William McKinley | ||||||
| Ethan A. Hitchcock | 1899-1907 | Theodore Roosevelt | ||||||
| James R. Garfield | 1907-1909 | Theodore Roosevelt | ||||||
| Richard A. Ballinger | 1909-1911 | William Howard Taft | ||||||
| Walter L. Fisher | 1911-1913 | William Howard Taft | ||||||
| Franklin K. Lane | 1913-1920 | Woodrow Wilson | ||||||
| John B. Payne | 1920-1921 | Woodrow Wilson | ||||||
| Albert B. Fall | 1921-1923 | Warren G. Harding | ||||||
| Hubert Work | 1923-1928 | Calvin Coolidge | ||||||
| Roy Owen West | 1928-1929 | Calvin Coolidge | ||||||
| Ray Lyman Wilbur | 1929-1933 | Herbert Hoover | ||||||
| Harold L. Ickes | 1933-1946 | Franklin D. Roosevelt | ||||||
| Julius A. Krug | 1946-1949 | Harry Truman | ||||||
| Oscar L. Chapman | 1949-1953 | Harry Truman | ||||||
| Douglas McKay | 1953-1956 | Dwight Eisenhower | ||||||
| Fred A. Seaton | 1956-1961 | Dwight Eisenhower | ||||||
| Steward L. Udall | 1961-1969 | John F. Kennedy | ||||||
| Walter J. Hickel | 1969-1970 | Richard Nixon | ||||||
| Rogers C.B. Morton | 1971-1975 | Gerald Ford | ||||||
| Stanley K. Hathaway | 1975 | Gerald Ford | ||||||
| Thomas S. Kleppe | 1975-1977 | Gerald Ford | ||||||
| Cecil D. Andrus | 1977-1981 | Jimmy Carter | N/A | |||||
| James G. Watt | 1981-1983 | Ronald Reagan | 83-12 | |||||
| William P. Clark | 1983-1985 | Ronald Reagan | 71-18 | |||||
| Donald P. Hodel | 1985-1989 | Ronald Reagan | 93-1 | |||||
| Manuel Lujan, Jr. | 1989-1993 | George H.W. Bush | 100-0 | |||||
| Bruce E. Babbitt | 1993-2001 | Bill Clinton | N/A | |||||
| Gale A. Norton | 2001-2006 | George W. Bush | 75-24 | |||||
| Dirk A. Kempthorne | 2006-2009 | George W. Bush | N/A | |||||
| Ken Salazar | 2009-2013 | Barack Obama | N/A | |||||
| Sally Jewell | 2013-2017 | Barack Obama | 87-11 | |||||
| Ryan Zinke | 2017-2019 | Donald Trump | 68-31 | |||||
| David Bernhardt | 2019-2021 | Donald Trump | 56-41 | |||||
| Debra Haaland | 2021-2025 | Joe Biden | 51-40 | |||||
| Walter Cruickshank (acting) | 2025-2025 | Donald Trump | - | |||||
| Doug Burgum | 2025-present | Donald Trump | 80-17 | |||||
Note: Votes marked "N/A" represent voice votes or unrecorded votes. Missing votes will be filled as they are researched.
Organization
| Administrative State |
|---|
| Read more about the administrative state on Ballotpedia. |
Initiatives and issues
Trump administration, 2017-2020
Click on the tiles below to read more about the Trump administration's specific policy proposals.
See also
External links
- Search Google News for this topic
- Official Department of the Interior website
- Official Facebook page
- Official Twitter page
- Official Youtube channel
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 U.S. Department of the Interior, "Strategic plan FY 2011-2016," accessed January 2, 2013
- ↑ Congress.gov, "PN503 — David Bernhardt — Department of the Interior," accessed April 12, 2019
- ↑ U.S. Department of the Interior, "Bureaus and Offices," January 2, 2014
- ↑ The Hill, "GOP triggers 'nuclear option' to speed up Trump picks," April 3, 2019
- ↑ Axios, "Senate GOP invokes 'nuclear option' to speed up confirmations of Trump nominees," April 3, 2019
- ↑ NBC News, "McConnell to use 'nuclear option' to confirm lower-level nominees," April 2, 2019
- ↑ U.S. Department of the Interior, "History of the Interior," accessed January 2, 2014
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
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