Schumer Floor Remarks On The Need To Reject The Nomination Of Daniel Jorjani To Serve As Solicitor At The Department Of The Interior

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer today spoke on the Senate floor regarding the need to reject the nomination of Daniel Jorjani to serve as Solicitor at the Department of the Interior. Below are his remarks, which can also be found here.

Later today, the Senate will vote on the confirmation of Daniel Jorjani to serve as Solicitor at the Department of Interior. By all rights, Leader McConnell should withdraw this vote from the floor. Mr. Jorjani’s career is out of step with the agency’s mission and it has come to light that Mr. Jorjani likely lied to Congress about his role in the Department’s adherence to transparency laws.

Under President Trump, the Interior Department has been mired in several investigations about the ethical conduct of its political appointees, including former Secretary Zinke. It’s obvious that the Interior Department sorely needs transparency and public accountability, especially when the stewardship of our public lands is at stake.

But at the Department of Interior, political appointees have instituted policies to stonewall and squash transparency.

It is likely that Mr. Jorjani has played a key role in shaping these policies and is, at this moment, one of the subjects of an Interior Department Inspector General investigation. Despite, in sworn testimony, claiming no role in reviewing public records requests, public documentation has shown that Mr. Jorjani was regularly made aware of FOIA requests involving high-level political appointees.

If confirmed, Jorjani would play an even larger role in overseeing the Interior Department’s public releases.

The president said he’d clean the swamp. Nomination after nomination that he makes the swamp even filthier, stinkier. He seems to have no morality. He seems to have no honor. This is a man who is loaded with conflicts of interests, ethical concerns, is likely an ideologue, opposed to the very mission of the agency to which he’s nominated. Mr. Jorjani is another bright red example of the lack of honor, of decency, of morality, of honesty in the Trump appointees. I urge Senate Republicans to join Democrats to vote to reject this sordid nomination.

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