Washington, D.C. – Senator Maria Cantwell pointed to David Bernhardt’s history as a lobbyist as she cast doubt Monday on President Trump’s nominee for Deputy Secretary of the Department of the Interior.

Cantewll (D-Wash.) is the ranking member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.

In a statement this week, Cantwell noted Bernhardt, a member of Trump’s transition team, was formerly solicitor of the Department of the Interior. Bernhardt was a lobbyist for the law and lobbying firm of Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck and remains a shareholder of the Denver, Colorado-based consultant company.

“I am gravely concerned about Mr. Bernhardt’s record of working on behalf of corporations at the expense of the environment, and his history at the Department of the Interior during years plagued by ethical scandals,” Cantwell said in a statement.

“The committee must do its job in closely scrutinizing his record and any conflicts of interest that run contrary to protecting the public interest and upholding the stewardship responsibilities entrusted to the department, on behalf of the American people,” she added.