Sen. Josh Hawley grills Interior Secretary Haaland about ‘dark money’ influence over policies

"We’re no closer to knowing for certain whether secret, inappropriate and possibly illegal meetings took place and how they influenced DOI’s final decision on the Twin Metals project,” Pete McGinnis of the Functional Government Initiative said.

By Kevin Killough

Published: May 3, 2024 3:44pm

Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., grilled Interior Department Secretary Deb Haaland Thursday on allegations that her department allows environmental groups inappropriate levels of influence over policies.

Haaland had come to testify at a fiscal year 2025 budget request hearing of the Senate Natural Energy and Natural Resources Committee.

In the course of the tense exchange, Hawley asked Haaland about the Wilderness Society, which he said was a “left-wing environmentalist pressure group” funded in large part by Swiss billionaire Hansjörg Wyss, “who has routed his money through all manner of dark money groups.”

Hawley asked Haaland if anyone in leadership at the Interior Department had met with the Wilderness Society.

“I'm sure we've met with a lot of groups and organizations in the work we do when we're discussing the environment,” Haaland answered.

Hawley referred to a Freedom of Information (FOIA) Requests submitted by the Functional Government Initiative (FGI), which found that Interior Department leadership had an off-the-books meeting with the Wilderness Society in July 2021, while the group was suing the department. The Wilderness Society requested that the department cancel mineral leasing rights in northwest Minnesota, which the department did a few months later.

Haaland said she couldn’t answer questions about meetings with the department’s former deputy secretary, to which Hawley demanded to know if Haaland was in charge of her department.

“We work as a team,” Haaland said.

Hawley went on to ask if she took responsibility for what happened at the Interior Department, to which Haaland said she did. However, Haaland said it was the first she was hearing about the issue Hawley was raising.

Pete McGinnis, communications director for FGI, told Just The News that he was grateful that Hawley used the material from their FOIA request.

“Unfortunately, the senator’s exchange with Secretary Haaland shows her determination to avoid accountability for what’s happened at Interior on her watch. We’re no closer to knowing for certain whether secret, inappropriate and possibly illegal meetings took place and how they influenced DOI’s final decision on the Twin Metals project,” McGinnis said.