David Bernhardt: Mike Lee has worked to make U.S. energy independent

I encourage the citizens of Utah to re-elect Sen. Mike Lee. As someone who has worked with Sen. Lee throughout my career in various capacities, and especially during my tenure as secretary of the interior, I can state that I have never met any elected official who has worked harder to promote the interests of their state and the nation. Few possess his good sense, integrity, and commitment to our constitutional republic.

During my tenure as secretary of the interior, my team and I worked relentlessly to advance American “energy dominance.” Although the media and the progressive left dismissed this idea, millions of Americans now realize that access to consistent and affordable energy — including gasoline for our cars and heating oil for our homes — is a cornerstone of a prosperous America.

Lee has long realized that, too, and so he was my tireless partner and an invaluable advocate for ending America’s reliance on hostile foreign suppliers and building an energy infrastructure that reduced consumer costs and created good-paying American jobs. Lee advanced energy policies that produced obvious and immediate results: We increased responsible oil production by 3.1 million barrels per day and, for the first time in nearly 70 years, America become a net energy exporter.

The prosperity made possible by energy independence was built upon commonsense regulatory reform. Lee has long championed administrative state reform, including his UNSHACKLE Act, a legislative proposal that would streamline the National Environmental Policy Act that I pushed at the Department of the Interior. America is playing catch-up with geopolitical rivals who control the rare earth minerals essential to our new economy. Lee has championed a bipartisan effort to ensure responsible use of our nation’s domestic resources.

Unfortunately, President Joe Biden and his Democrat enablers, including Evan McMullin, gleefully repudiated American energy independence and commonsense regulatory reform. Now we are all suffering the results: runaway costs at the pumps, failing grids, stalled pipelines and increasing energy supply vulnerabilities caused by the hostility of geopolitical rivals. Utah cannot afford for these policies to continue, as they will if Democrats maintain control of the U.S. Senate.

I know Lee is also committed to preserving public access to Utah’s outdoor spaces. Utah is blessed with some of the most majestic scenery in the world, which is why it is home to so many outdoor pursuits – hunting, fishing, hiking, biking, camping and guiding.

Democrats have long neglected this Western legacy of mixed outdoor uses. Lee has honored them. His policies helped us at the Department of Interior save taxpayers more than $5 billion, which we then used to expand public land access for hunting and fishing on over 1.7 million acres. We also secured more than $3 billion to end Democrat neglect of our national parks and improve park infrastructure so that all Americans can enjoy our nation’s outdoors.

Lastly, on a personal note, I’ve known Mike Lee for years and I’m proud to say that there are few lawyers of such intellect and integrity. Lee has worked tirelessly to advance policies that benefit hardworking American families. I urge you to vote for Senator Mike Lee.

David Bernhardt, Arlington, Virginia, served as secretary of the interior from 2019 to 2021 under President Donald Trump.