No. 2 Interior official announces departure

Interior Deputy Secretary Tommy Beaudreau, the No. 2 official at the department, will leave the Biden administration, the Interior Department confirmed Wednesday.

“Tommy’s impact on the Department can be seen in every aspect of our work,” Interior Secretary Deb Haaland said in a statement. “He has been a valued counselor and friend. His legacy will continue as we carry on our work to implement President Biden’s historic Investing in America agenda and steward our public lands and waters for the American people.”  

“I love the Interior Department, and it has been the greatest honor and responsibility of my career to serve as Secretary Haaland’s deputy in the Biden-Harris administration,” Beaudreau said. “I will always cherish the opportunities I’ve had to work with the best career staff in federal service and diverse communities across the United States to help figure out solutions to some of the most challenging problems facing our country.”  

The department said Beaudreau will leave his post in late October.

Beaudreau is a longtime Interior official whose tenure with the department began during the Obama administration. He was confirmed to the No. 2 position in June of 2021. While Haaland has established a reputation as an ally to progressives and environmentalists in her tenure at Interior, Beaudreau is viewed as a more moderate figure and has been criticized by the left wing of the Democratic Party as overly close to the fossil fuel industry.

Despite these criticisms, Beaudreau’s confirmation proved far less contentious in the Senate than Haaland’s, securing an 88-9 vote to Haaland’s 51-40. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) was the sole member of the Democratic caucus to oppose the nomination, citing Beaudreau’s ties to the oil industry.

Notably, when the Biden administration announced its approval of the Willow Project, a massive Alaskan oil exploration project, in March, Beaudreau made the official announcement. Haaland, who opposed the project during her time in the House of Representatives, said at her 2021 confirmation hearings that that previous opposition would have no bearing on her decisions as secretary.

Beaudreau has pushed back against criticisms of his environmental record, saying he had “what I believe was a very strong track record during the Obama administration on conservation.”