Tommy Beaudreau

Tommy P. Beaudreau is an American politician who has served as the deputy secretary of the Interior since 2021. He served as the first director of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management from 2011 to 2014 and as chief of staff of the United States Department of the Interior from 2014 until the end of the Obama administration.

Tommy Beaudreau
9th United States Deputy Secretary of the Interior
Assumed office
June 23, 2021
PresidentJoe Biden
SecretaryDeb Haaland
Preceded byKatharine MacGregor
1st Director of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management
In office
June 2010 – May 2014
PresidentBarack Obama
Preceded byPosition created
Succeeded byAbigail Ross Hopper
Personal details
BornColorado, U.S.
EducationYale University (BA)
Georgetown University (JD)
Occupation
  • Attorney
  • government official

Early life and education

Beaudreau was born in Colorado[1] His father took a job to work in the Prudhoe Bay Oil Field,[2] and Beaudreau was raised in the Bear Valley neighborhood of Anchorage, Alaska.[1] He graduated from Service High School. Beaudreau then earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in history from Yale University and a Juris Doctor from the Georgetown University Law Center.[3]

Career

After graduating from law school, Beaudreau worked as an associate at Fried Frank in Washington, DC. In 2000 and 2001, he was a law clerk for Judge Jerome B. Friedman of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. Beaudreau then returned to Fried Frank, where he worked as an associate and later partner.[4]

In 2010, Beaudreau became a senior advisor in the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management Regulation and Enforcement.[4] to coordinate the federal response to the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill. One year later, he became the first director of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.[5] He was responsible for the regulations for oil and gas development in the Arctic Ocean.[6] He served until 2014 and was succeeded by Abigail Ross Hopper. From 2014 until the end of the Obama administration in 2016, Beaudreau served as acting Assistant Secretary for Land and Minerals Management, and chief of staff of the United States Department of the Interior.[7]

In January 2017, he became a partner at the Los Angeles law firm Latham & Watkins.[2]

In March 2021, after Elizabeth Klein's nomination for United States Deputy Secretary of the Interior was withdrawn by the Biden administration , it was reported that Beaudreau was selected as the nominee.[8][9] Lisa Murkowski (R, Alaska) helped to convince Biden to nominate Beaudreau for assistant secretary instead of Liz Klein.[10] On April 15, 2021, his nomination was sent to the Senate.[11] On May 13, 2021, his nomination was reported out of committee by an 18-1 vote.[12] On June 17, 2021, his nomination was confirmed in the United States Senate by an 88-9 vote.[13][14] On June 23, 2021, he was sworn into office by Secretary Deb Haaland.[15]

Beaudreau has a reputation for being friendly to oil and gas interests.[10] In 2021, he reported working for 35 clients, including numerous companies "from fossil fuel drilling and pipeline firms to offshore wind" which might pose a conflict of interest before the Interior Department.[2] In March 2023, Beaudreau signed the permission for the controversial Willow project, as Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland's name did not appear on the approval.[16]

On October 4, 2023, it was announced that Beaudreau would leave his Interior Department post at the end of October.[17]

Personal life

As of 2021, Beaudreau was married and had two children.[6]

References
  1. Hobson, Margaret Kriz; E; Thursday (2013-08-15). "NEWSMAKER: Alaska boy Beaudreau finds his way home at Interior". www.eenews.net. Retrieved 2021-03-23.
  2. Chris D'Angelo (2021-04-29). "Biden's No. 2 Interior Pick Has A Long List Of Potential Conflicts Of Interest". Huffington Post. Retrieved 2023-06-30.
  3. "Latham & Watkins LLP - Global Directory - Tommy P. Beaudreau". www.lw.com. Retrieved 2021-03-23.
  4. "Columbia .SIPA Center on Global Energy Policy. Tommy Beaudreau". www.energypolicy.columbia.edu. Retrieved 2021-03-23.
  5. "Secretary Salazar Names Michael R. Bromwich and Tommy P. Beaudreau to Lead New DOI Bureaus". www.doi.gov. 2011-09-16. Retrieved 2021-03-25.
  6. "Tommy Beaudreau". www.doi.gov. 2021-06-23. Retrieved 2023-06-30.
  7. Goode, Darren (3 April 2012). "Former drilling enforcer defends role". POLITICO. Retrieved 2021-03-23.
  8. Lefebvre, Ben (22 March 2021). "White House yanks Interior nominee after Murkowski opposition". POLITICO. Retrieved 2021-03-23.
  9. Eilperin, Juliet; Partlow, Joshua. "White House pulls nominee for Interior's No. 2 post after opposition from centrists". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2021-03-25.
  10. Dumain, Emma (2023-03-15). "Murkowski won big time with Biden's oil project. She knows it, too". Retrieved 2023-03-20.
  11. "Nominations Sent to the Senate", White House, April 15, 2021
  12. Doyle, Michael. "Beaudreau moves forward with bipartisan panel support". Greenwire. E&E News. Retrieved 2021-05-13.
  13. "Senate GOP hails new Interior deputy as 'voice of reason'". AP NEWS. 2021-06-17. Retrieved 2021-06-17.
  14. "On the Nomination (Confirmation: Tommy P. Beaudreau, of Alaska, to be Deputy Secretary of the Interior)" United States Senate, June 17, 2021
  15. "Tommy Beaudreau Sworn In as Interior Department Deputy Secretary" (Press release). Washington, D.C.: United States Department of the Interior. June 23, 2021. Retrieved June 23, 2021.
  16. Nilsen, Ella (14 March 2023). "Inside the Biden administration's fraught decision to green-light the controversial Willow Project". CNN. Archived from the original on March 14, 2023. Retrieved March 14, 2023.
  17. "Deputy Secretary Beaudreau to Step Down at Interior Department". www.doi.gov. 2023-10-04. Retrieved 2023-10-04.
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