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By a vote of 51-43, the Senate voted to confirm Daniel Jorjani to be the Interior Department Solicitor. Interior's Inspector General recently announced that Jorjani is being investigated, and Senator Ron Wyden has requested the Department of Justice to investigate if Jorjani committed perjury during his confirmation hearing. Yesterday, on the floor of the Senate, Senator Wyden said, “Bottom line, I believe Mr. Jorjani lied to the committee and perjured himself.” Internal emails showed that Jorjani has been heavily involved in the Interior Department's implementation of a political review of information released to the public through the Freedom of Information Act, something he denied before Congress.
According to the Center for American Progress, this was the first-ever recorded vote for an Interior solicitor.
Cutting out funds for BLM relocation
The Senate Appropriations Committee approved a budget proposal for the Interior Department that does not include funds for the planned relocation of the Bureau of Land Management headquarters to Colorado. “Between this bill and the strong statement made by the House to oppose the reorganization, the administration would be well-advised to stop trying to ram these changes through and actually work with Congress on a good faith basis,” Senator Tom Udall said in a statement to The Hill.
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Today’s vote is an embarrassment for the Senate. Daniel Jorjani’s confirmation sends a clear message that nominees are free to mislead and lie to senators and still get the job. Jorjani is the architect of Interior’s policy that allows for political interference with the Freedom of Information Act. Under oath, he lied about his role undermining America’s most important transparency law. That should have instantly cost him his job as Principal Deputy Solicitor. Instead, 51 United States senators just gave him a promotion.”
