The Interior Department has a history of letting energy companies have their cake and eat it, too—by issuing offshore drilling rights at liquidation-sale prices and cutting companies a break on royalties.
For decades, there has been a virtual giveaway of offshore drilling rights. And the Trump Administration is planning to put much more on the auction block.
Despite the plain language of anti-lobbying bans, a narrow interpretation by the DOJ has given executive branch employees a lot of leeway in influencing the legislative process.
To bolster federal oversight and ensure the protection of whistleblowers, President Donald Trump needs to fill positions in Offices of Inspectors General, the Office of Special Counsel, and the Merit Systems Protection Board.
