Ranking Members Heinrich and Huffman Demand Answers on Trump Administration’s Fast-Track of Pro-Oil Rule for Alaska’s Western Arctic

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, and U.S. Representative Jared Huffman (D-Calif.), Ranking Member of the U.S. House Natural Resources Committee, sent a letter to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum demanding answers about the Department of the Interior’s effort to fast-track an oil industry-backed rule that would weaken environmental protections and expedite oil and gas permitting across the Western Arctic. The lawmakers raised conflict-of-interest concerns after Interior moved to implement the industry-written proposal just days after receiving the petition.  

The lawmakers are seeking documents and communications related to the Department's proposed rule, Production Site Development in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska, after the Alaska Oil and Gas Association (AOGA) submitted a petition requesting the rule on May 12, 2026. Just three days later, the Department initiated the rulemaking process. 

“This proposal, which would rubber-stamp future drilling operations in the Western Arctic, guts key environmental protections and opportunities for tribal consultation in a blatant giveaway of public lands to the oil and gas industry. This would open the door for hundreds of permits to not sufficiently balance wildlife and habitat, subsistence uses, or cultural resources across 23 million acres of public lands,” the lawmakers wrote. 

The lawmakers continue, “The short timeline combined with AOGA’s involvement in this proposal raises serious concerns about not only the Department’s lack of environmental review and public input process, but its clear partiality to the oil industry’s interest in managing the largest tract of public land in the country.”  

The letter also raises concerns about potential conflicts of interest involving current and former AOGA officials serving in senior positions at the Department. AOGA's current CEO, Steve Wackowski, served as the Department's Senior Advisor for Alaska Affairs during the first Trump administration, and the Department's current Senior Advisor for Alaska Affairs, Kara Moriarty, led AOGA as its President and CEO for more than a decade before joining the administration. 

Ranking Members Heinrich and Huffman demanded documents and information related to the development of the proposed rule, including communications between Interior and AOGA, ethics safeguards governing current and former AOGA officials, calendars of senior officials, and records showing when the Department first began developing the proposal. 

Read the full text of the letter here and below: 

As Ranking Members of the House Natural Resources and Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committees, we write to express our deep concern regarding the proposed rule titled “Production Site Development in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska.” 

On May 12, 2026, the Alaska Oil and Gas Association (AOGA) filed a petition for a new rule to expedite oil and gas permitting in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska (Western Arctic). Just three days later, the Department of the Interior (Department) initiated the first steps toward implementing the rule. Your remarks, as well as the statement from the Department, indicate that implementing all or most of the AOGA-drafted rule, despite an upcoming public comment period, may be a foregone conclusion. 

This proposal, which would rubber-stamp future drilling operations in the Western Arctic, guts key environmental protections and opportunities for tribal consultation in a blatant giveaway of public lands to the oil and gas industry. This would open the door for hundreds of permits to not sufficiently balance wildlife and habitat, subsistence uses, or cultural resources across 23 million acres of public lands. 

The short timeline combined with the AOGA’s involvement in this proposal raise serious questions about not only the Department’s lack of environmental review and public input process, but its clear partiality to the oil industry’s interest in managing the largest tract of public land in the country. 

This potentially record-setting adoption of an industry-proposed rule by the Department also raises serious conflict of interest concerns. AOGA’s current chief executive officer, Steve Wackowski, served as the Senior Advisor for Alaska Affairs at the Department during the first Trump administration. Kara Moriarty, the Department’s current Senior Advisor for Alaska Affairs, previously served as President and CEO of AOGA for over a decade, and worked at AOGA up until her time in the administration. 

We therefore respectfully request that you provide answers to the following questions: 

1. When did the Department first decide to pursue this rulemaking? 

2. What roles did Kara Moriarty and Steve Wackowski play in the decision to pursue the rulemaking, and in any subsequent steps related to its development, review, or implementation? 

3. What ethics safeguards were implemented to avoid conflicts of interest between current and former employees of AOGA and the Department? 

4. Please provide a list of petitions for rulemakings that have been submitted to the Department of the Interior, or any of its bureaus or offices, since January 20, 2025, and the accompanying agency/departmental response time; 

5. Please provide any and all communications between officials at the Department of the Interior and its agencies, bureaus, or offices and the Alaska Oil and Gas Association regarding permitting in the NPR-A dated on or after January 20, 2025; 

6. Please provide all entries in Doug Burgum’s calendar relating to AOGA or any representative of AOGA between January 20, 2025, and June 15, 2026; 

7. Please provide all entries in Kara Moriarty’s calendar relating to AOGA or any representative of AOGA between January 20, 2025, and June 15, 2026; 

8. Please any and all draft rulemaking documents, briefing papers, or decision documents created before May 12, 2026, related to the proposed rule; and 

9. Please provide all ethics documents associated with Kara Moriarty, including all ethics agreements, certificates of divestiture, recusal statements, screening arrangements, OGE Form 278e Public Financial Disclosure Reports, OGE Form 278-T Periodic Transaction Reports, and any waivers issued pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 208. 

We look forward to your prompt and comprehensive response to these requests.