On Tuesday afternoon, the U.S. Senate voted 58-38 to confirm Katharine MacGregor as Deputy Secretary of the Interior. The vote was mostly partisan, with all 53 Republicans voting in favor of the nomination, although four Democrats -- Sens. Martin Heinrich of New Mexico, Joe Manchin of West Virginia, Chris Murphy of Connecticut, and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona -- and one Independent who caucuses with the Democrats -- Sen. Angus King of Maine -- crossed party lines to vote for her confirmation as well. "MacGregor," according to Rachel Frazin of The Hill, "has faced some scrutiny after Reveal reported that oil and gas executives boasted about relying on her when running into issues with the Interior Department." In addition to her oil and gas industry ties, she has also voiced support for expanding offshore drilling. Given these facts, why would these Democrats vote to confirm her to a top post in the Interior Department?
Well, as it turns out, all five of these senators' campaigns have received significant funding from the top three oil and gas lobbying companies -- ExxonMobil, Koch Industries, and Chevron Corporation -- during the 2018 election cycle, when all of their seats were up for election. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, ExxonMobil lobbyists -- namely David J. Leiter, Robert A. Russell, Russell Sullivan, and Amy Tejral -- overall contributed $6,400 to Heinrich, $1,000 to King, $2,000 to Manchin, $6,750 to Murphy (and his associated PAC), and $6,900 to Sinema. Meanwhile, ExxonMobil's corporate PAC contributed to Heinrich ($10,000), Manchin ($10,000), and Murphy ($2,500). Additionally, Koch Industries lobbyist Chris J. Miller donated $500 to Sinema, while Chevron lobbyists -- namely Lauren Aronson, David Castagnetti, Shannon Finley, Steven Haro, Brian Arthur Pomper, John D. Raffaelli (and his family members), David R. Thomas, and Charles Wooters -- gave a total of $13,900 to Heinrich (and his associated PAC), $6,700 to King, $2,000 to Manchin, $4,150 to Murphy, and $9,650 to Sinema.
Knowing how much money each of these senators took from the oil and gas industry during their most recent campaigns, it should come as no surprise that they would vote to confirm someone who is a favorite of the industry to such an important post. Despite President Trump's dangerous rollbacks on environmental regulations, several Democrats, including these five, continue to support, or at the very least, be complicit in, them.
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