Democrats on the House Natural Resources Committee have asked the Justice Department to investigate whether a Trump administration interior secretary engaged in possible criminal conduct while helping an Arizona developer get a crucial permit for a housing project.
David Bernhardt, who led the Interior Department from 2019 to 2021, is accused of wrongdoing as he helped developer Michael Ingram, a Republican donor and supporter of President Donald Trump, get a permit in 2017 for a housing project.
A federal wildlife official said that project would threaten habitat for imperiled species.
Committee lawmakers say Bernhardt pushed for approval of the project, a proposed 28,000-home development in southern Arizona near the endangered San Pedro River.