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On Tuesday, members of the House Natural Resources Committee and House Oversight Committee asked the Interior department's inspector general to investigate whether Karen Budd-Falen, currently the third-highest ranking official at Interior, engaged in self-dealing during the first Trump administration.
Government documents reveal that Budd-Falen failed to disclose a $3.5 million contract her husband signed with the developer of the Thacker Pass lithium mine in Nevada while Budd-Falen was a top official at Interior during the first Trump administration.
The letter, which follows an investigation by Public Domain, contains alarming new details that reveal the Interior solicitor’s office, where Budd-Falen worked during the first Trump administration, had significant involvement in the fast-track process that led to the mine’s approval in the final days of President Trump’s first term. That approval was essential for the Budd-Falen family ranch to receive an initial payment of nearly $3 million from the mine’s developers.
“The internal documents in this letter are incredibly damning,” said Center for Western Priorities Deputy Director Aaron Weiss. “At the very least, Secretary Burgum must suspend Karen Budd-Falen pending the outcome of any investigation.”
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It’s really disheartening to see the direction we’re going. It’s trying times. Nobody is really sure what’s going to happen next.”
