page_title: Dirk Kempthorne
section_title: Secretary of the Interior
hierarchical_section_title: Dirk Kempthorne / Political career / Secretary of the Interior
caption_attribution_description: Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne joins federal and island leaders for a group picture at the Insular Areas Health Summit. From left, Northern Mariana Islands Health Secretary Timothy P. Villagomez; Marshall Islands President Litokwa Tomeing; Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness David S.C. Chu; Secretary of Veterans Affairs James B. Peake; Republic of Palau Vice President Elias Chin; USVI Delegate to Congress Donna M. Christensen; Secretary Kempthorne; American Samoa Gov. Togiola Tulafono; Health and Human Services Assistant Secretary of Health Dr. Joxel Garcia; Hawaii Lt. Gov. James Aiona; U.S. Virgin Islands Health Commissioner Vivian Ebbesen Fludd; Federated States of Micronesia President Manny Mori; and Guam Gov. Felix Camacho.
context_page_description: Dirk Arthur Kempthorne is an American politician who was the United States Secretary of the Interior from 2006 to 2009, serving under President George W. Bush. A Republican, Kempthorne previously served as a United States Senator from Idaho from 1993 to 1999 and as the 30th Governor of Idaho from 1999 to 2006. He is known for his conservative views, particularly on economic issues.
  Kempthorne was first elected to public office as mayor of Boise in 1985, where he served for seven years.
  Kempthorne serves as a co-chair of the Democracy Project at the Bipartisan Policy Center. In November 2010, he was appointed president and CEO of the American Council of Life Insurers.
context_section_description: On March 16, 2006, Kempthorne was nominated by President George W. Bush to replace Gale Norton as the 49th Secretary of the Interior. On May 10, 2006, Kempthorne's nomination was approved by voice vote by the United States Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. He was confirmed by the full Senate on May 26, and resigned as governor to accept the position the same day. Lieutenant Governor Jim Risch succeeded Kempthorne as governor, filling out the remaining months of his term. Kempthorne is the second Idahoan to hold the Cabinet post. Former Governor Cecil Andrus was the Secretary of the Interior under President Jimmy Carter, serving from 1977 to 1981.
  Upon Kempthorne's appointment as Secretary of the Interior, environmental groups characterized him as someone who has "almost always favored changing laws like the Endangered Species Act and the Safe Drinking Water Act to make them more favorable to commercial interests."
  As Secretary of the Interior, Kempthorne was criticized for not placing any plants or animals on the federal endangered species list since his confirmation on May 26, 2006. As of September 2007, Kempthorne held the record for protecting fewer species over his tenure than any Interior Secretary in United States history, a record previously held by James G. Watt for over 20 years.
  In December 2007, as a result of a long-term investigation and resignation of former Deputy Assistant Secretary Julie MacDonald, Inspector General Earl Devaney found "abrupt and abrasive, if not abusive" management at the department under Kempthorne's supervision. U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on Public Lands and Forests, attributed the "untold waste of hundreds of thousands of taxpayers' dollars" to MacDonald's actions. Of the department, Representative Nick J. Rahall II, chairman of the House Natural Resources said "The results of this investigation paint a picture of something akin to a secret society residing within the Interior Department that was colluding to undermine the protection of endangered wildlife and covering for one another's misdeeds."
  In September 2008, Devaney reported wrongdoing by current and former employees of the Minerals Management Service, an agency under Kempthorne's administration that collects about $10 billion in oil and gas royalties annually, and one of the government's largest sources of revenue other than taxes. According to The New York Times, "Eight officials in the royalty program accepted gifts from energy companies whose value exceeded limits set by ethics rules—including golf, ski and paintball outings; meals and drinks; and tickets to a Toby Keith concert, a Houston Texans football game and a Colorado Rockies baseball game ... The investigation also concluded that several of the officials "frequently consumed alcohol at industry functions, had used cocaine and marijuana, and had sexual relationships with oil and gas company representatives."  The New York Times reports a whistleblower had officially complained about the wrongdoings in the spring of 2006, prior to Kempthorne's being sworn into the office.
  On December 16, 2008, the Center for Biological Diversity announced intent to sue the Interior Department under Kempthorne for introducing "regulations ... that would eviscerate our nation's most successful wildlife law by exempting thousands of federal activities, including those that generate greenhouse gases, from review under the Endangered Species Act." The lawsuit, which is critical of policy advocated by Kempthorne and President George W. Bush, was filed in the Northern District of California by the CBD, Greenpeace and Defenders of Wildlife. According to the CBD, "The lawsuit argues that the regulations violate the Endangered Species Act and did not go through the required public review process. The regulations, first proposed on August 11th, were rushed by the Bush administration through an abbreviated process in which more than 300,000 comments from the public were reviewed in 2-3 weeks, and environmental impacts were analyzed in a short and
caption: Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne joins federal and island leaders for a group picture at the Insular Areas Health Summit
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