Burgum’s Latest Crony Nominations: Unqualified Wealth Manager And Telecom Executive To Oversee Exploitation Of America’s Parks And Public Lands
Republican-Controlled Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee to Hold Confirmation Hearing for Kevin Lilly and William Hague Tomorrow
HELENA, MT – Tomorrow, the Republican-controlled Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee will hold a confirmation hearing for Doug Burgum’s latest Interior Department nominees: Kevin Lilly to be Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks, and William Hague to be an Assistant Secretary of the Interior. Both men are unqualified, having spent their careers in corporate boardrooms, not in parks or public lands, and will work to implement Burgum’s fail-by-design plan to exploit wildlife, privatize parks, and sell off public lands if confirmed.
“Unqualified crony Kevin Lilly ran a wealth management firm and sat on a Texas liquor board while Burgum’s buddy William Hague built cell towers. Neither of them has any business overseeing the National Park Service, the Fish and Wildlife Service, or any of America’s treasured public lands. These are patronage picks dressed up as nominees, and Senators should treat them accordingly,” said Jayson O’Neill, Save Our Parks spokesperson. “Americans who love our wildlife, parks, and public lands must call on their Senators, many of whom claim to support our outdoor heritage, to resoundingly reject these unqualified corporate cronies. If they fail to do so, their constituents will hold them responsible for the pillaging and destruction of our birthright, plain and simple.”
Neither of these conflicted cronies belong anywhere near the public agencies they’ve been tapped to lead and should be immediately rejected by Senate committee members who support Americans’ beloved parks, public lands, and wildlife.
Lilly is a Texas investment manager who lacks any notable parks, public lands, or wildlife experience. His ethics agreement reveals a sprawling portfolio of financial interests spanning dozens of energy, tech, and mining companies. Watchdog group PEER warned that Lilly’s original acting appointment violated the Federal Vacancies Reform Act, and that decisions he issued in that capacity could be thrown out in court. Now Burgum wants the Senate to make his appointment permanent.
Hague is a telecom executive who spent thirty years in the industry before being installed at Interior in May of last year. He was also a major donor to Burgum’s presidential campaign. His ethics agreement discloses ongoing financial ties to AT&T, Chevron, Exxon, and a long list of other energy and telecom companies he would need to recuse himself from as a senior Interior official.
Additional Resources:
To speak with Save Our Parks spokesperson Jayson O’Neill, email jayson@focalpointstrategygroup.com.
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