Notes below. I will follow up separately with more specific to-dos and asks.

Note: from here on out, all communication/planning re: the nomination fight will happen via the DOISec@groups.b-team.org listserv. If you’re not on it and would like to be in the loop, please let me know!

Bernhardt Call Notes 2/5

Recap of the announcement

Trump tweeted yesterday that he will be nominating David Bernhardt as the official Secretary of the Interior
>>Top asks:

Put out a statement TODAY labeling Bernhardt as a walking conflict of interest, chief steward of DOI’s culture of corruption, and unfit to serve.

Collecting these for a Hill packet and a roundup for press tomorrow, so please send to this list!

Engage on social
If your CEO or senior staff is available, consider pitching them to cable

Resources:

Rapid response resources to push back, including sample press statements, social media guidance, Bernhardt background and research, and a media pitch template

Research toplines – CWP

Backgrounders here, here, and at www.davidbernhardt.org
Confirmed as deputy at a 53-43 vote.
Has had more than 2,000 clients in the oil and gas industry and coal industry, including trade groups.
During time as Deputy, his clients received meetings and multiple favorable decisions.
Bernhardt recalled hundreds of BLM employees to continue both onshore and offshore oil and gas permitting during the government shutdown, (many of these permits going to former clients).

Pressing questions for Bernhardt – WVP

Has Bernhardt been in communication with Halliburton or anyone representing Halliburton since becoming Deputy Secretary of the Interior?
How does Bernhardt plan to solve problems plaguing the department as acting Secretary of the Interior?
Has Bernhardt honored his ethics recusals?
Has Bernhardt given former clients preferential access?
Will Bernhardt promise not to sell public lands or transfer them to the states?
What was Bernhardt’s role in re-assigning Interior career employees?
Can the American people trust that corruption and special interest favors won't happen again?

Nomination Fight Plan – Hannah

Messaging topline: David Bernhardt is too corrupt to serve as Secretary of the Interior.

Bernhardt has been the chief architect of every anti-public lands, anti-oceans, anti-wildlife policy that has come out of DOI and he needs to be held accountable.

Topline goals

Drive a wedge between vulnerable Senate Republicans and Bernhardt
Use the nomination process to elevate and expose the toxic agenda at DOI in order to slow/stop/weaken rollbacks at DOI
Make it clear that David Bernhardt is unfit to serve in any role at DOI
Educate new Senate ENR members about Bernhardt’s record and work with them on earning policy concessions.

Strategy and tactics

Educate national memberships (use #StopBernhardt hashtag)
Drive a wedge in target states (identifying the wedge for each state and each senator individually)
Educate reporters and editorial boards

If your group has an ed board memo ready to go, send it!

Group opposition letter

Center for Biological Diversity is taking the lead
Hoping to get at least 150 groups signed on

#StopBernhardt social media day of action (likely to happen on 2/14)

Discussion & next steps

Immediate to-dos:

Send action alerts/blogs to membership
Reach out to reporters
Help create a list of state-based and policy-based wedges that we can use to drive concessions throughout the nomination process

Wildlife (CBD and Defenders are taking the lead)
Secrecy and lack of public input (who can help compile this?)

On the call we discussed: Increased fees (plowed ahead with no input); changes to FOIA rule; short comment periods for oil and gas leases (a judge specifically said it was intended to cut the public out of the process), not reaching out to communities affected by Monuments Review and other actions)

NPCA compiling list of bad National Parks record
Do we have him, or can we get him on the record on sell-off?

NPCA to circulate QFRs (might contain sell-off answers)
Suggested to look at testimony from undersecretary hearing

LCV scorecard could be helpful with any Dems that we need to shore up (confirmation votes featured prominently)
For West Virginia: has he said or done anything that would threaten pensions, healthcare for coal miners?

Brainstorm

How can we paint him as being consistently bad on some of the issues he prides himself on?

i.e. public input; wildlife

Run ads on him on wildlife issues in order to even out the support he’s getting from sportsmen groups - share with Senator Manchin

Randy from CBD will compile everything they have on his bad wildlife background and others can add on.
Update the map of amount of land he’s leased of pronghorn and mule deer habitat, get to reporters.
If anyone is interested in pooling resources for ads, please let me know.

Gardner, McSally, Daines are obvious targets

Manchin, King are other possible targets (though according to intel, King might be OK)

We need to find local voices in CO, MT and AZ to vocally speak in opposition. Would be ideal if we could find:

Ranchers, hunters, landowners, farmers, miners (?) willing to talk about how they have specifically been ignored by the administration

We might have people linked to the Cadiz/water issue.

EKIP – the administration tried to defund it – can we find voices who would have been affected by that?
National op-ed opposing Bernhardt that we could amplify with influencers for each Senator

There might be people from the former solicitor’s office from the Bush years who might be willing to talk to media on background re: how he works.

Joel Clement may be willing to do this too

We specifically need to up our earned media game + reporter education + ed board out reach in Colorado

Hannah Ledford

Director, Americans for Public Lands

(402) 304-0287

hledford@partnershipproject.org