SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Under a new Trump administration plan, many coastal states--with the exception of Florida, following an exemption from the Interior Department--will see their waters opened up to oil companies for offshore drilling. (Photo: arbyreed/Flickr/cc)
As Florida Gets Drilling Exemption, Former WH Ethics Chief Accuses Trump of Creating 'Banana Republic'
"If it looks to you like the administration is using federal policymaking as a campaign tool, you're not alone."
Jan 10, 2018
Former White House ethics director Walter Shaub joined government watchdogs in slamming the Interior Department's decision to give Florida special treatment--exempting the state from offshore drilling plans announced last week by the Trump administration.
In a tweet, Shaub accused Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke of granting the exemption only because President Donald Trump's luxury resort Mar-a-Lago, which officials have hoped would boost tourism, is located in the state.
Zinke suggested that he came to his decision after taking "local voices" into consideration, namely those of Gov. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) and other state lawmakers who pushed back against offshore drilling projects in Florida's waters because of the impact it would have on the state's $90 billion tourism sector.
But as Shaub pointed out, leaders in states including Virginia, California, Oregon have objected to the Trump administration's new proposal to expand oil and gas offshore drilling projects in nearly all of the United States' waters.
Scott had argued that Florida could lose much of its tourism revenue should companies be permitted to set up oil rigs off the coast until 2024 under the proposal.
Other affected states have growing, revenue-generating tourism industries as well, with California and Maine gathering billions of dollars and seeing five to six percent growth in tourism revenue in 2016 from the previous year.
Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) suggested in a tweet that the Trump administration was giving preferential treatment to Scott, perhaps because of his political party.
At MSNBC, Steve Benen wrote that Zinke's move may have been made in preparation for the 2018 race for Sen. Bill Nelson's (D-Fla.) seat, in which President Donald Trump has urged Scott to run.
"With this in mind, it's very easy to believe Trump and his team gave Rick Scott what he asked for in order to make the governor look good, setting the stage for new campaign ads about how effective Scott was in 'saving Florida's coastline,'" wrote Benen.
"If it looks to you like the administration is using federal policymaking as a campaign tool, you're not alone. From where I sit, this is less an example of Rick Scott's efficacy and more an example of Trump World abusing the levers of federal power."
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Former White House ethics director Walter Shaub joined government watchdogs in slamming the Interior Department's decision to give Florida special treatment--exempting the state from offshore drilling plans announced last week by the Trump administration.
In a tweet, Shaub accused Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke of granting the exemption only because President Donald Trump's luxury resort Mar-a-Lago, which officials have hoped would boost tourism, is located in the state.
Zinke suggested that he came to his decision after taking "local voices" into consideration, namely those of Gov. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) and other state lawmakers who pushed back against offshore drilling projects in Florida's waters because of the impact it would have on the state's $90 billion tourism sector.
But as Shaub pointed out, leaders in states including Virginia, California, Oregon have objected to the Trump administration's new proposal to expand oil and gas offshore drilling projects in nearly all of the United States' waters.
Scott had argued that Florida could lose much of its tourism revenue should companies be permitted to set up oil rigs off the coast until 2024 under the proposal.
Other affected states have growing, revenue-generating tourism industries as well, with California and Maine gathering billions of dollars and seeing five to six percent growth in tourism revenue in 2016 from the previous year.
Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) suggested in a tweet that the Trump administration was giving preferential treatment to Scott, perhaps because of his political party.
At MSNBC, Steve Benen wrote that Zinke's move may have been made in preparation for the 2018 race for Sen. Bill Nelson's (D-Fla.) seat, in which President Donald Trump has urged Scott to run.
"With this in mind, it's very easy to believe Trump and his team gave Rick Scott what he asked for in order to make the governor look good, setting the stage for new campaign ads about how effective Scott was in 'saving Florida's coastline,'" wrote Benen.
"If it looks to you like the administration is using federal policymaking as a campaign tool, you're not alone. From where I sit, this is less an example of Rick Scott's efficacy and more an example of Trump World abusing the levers of federal power."
Former White House ethics director Walter Shaub joined government watchdogs in slamming the Interior Department's decision to give Florida special treatment--exempting the state from offshore drilling plans announced last week by the Trump administration.
In a tweet, Shaub accused Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke of granting the exemption only because President Donald Trump's luxury resort Mar-a-Lago, which officials have hoped would boost tourism, is located in the state.
Zinke suggested that he came to his decision after taking "local voices" into consideration, namely those of Gov. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) and other state lawmakers who pushed back against offshore drilling projects in Florida's waters because of the impact it would have on the state's $90 billion tourism sector.
But as Shaub pointed out, leaders in states including Virginia, California, Oregon have objected to the Trump administration's new proposal to expand oil and gas offshore drilling projects in nearly all of the United States' waters.
Scott had argued that Florida could lose much of its tourism revenue should companies be permitted to set up oil rigs off the coast until 2024 under the proposal.
Other affected states have growing, revenue-generating tourism industries as well, with California and Maine gathering billions of dollars and seeing five to six percent growth in tourism revenue in 2016 from the previous year.
Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) suggested in a tweet that the Trump administration was giving preferential treatment to Scott, perhaps because of his political party.
At MSNBC, Steve Benen wrote that Zinke's move may have been made in preparation for the 2018 race for Sen. Bill Nelson's (D-Fla.) seat, in which President Donald Trump has urged Scott to run.
"With this in mind, it's very easy to believe Trump and his team gave Rick Scott what he asked for in order to make the governor look good, setting the stage for new campaign ads about how effective Scott was in 'saving Florida's coastline,'" wrote Benen.
"If it looks to you like the administration is using federal policymaking as a campaign tool, you're not alone. From where I sit, this is less an example of Rick Scott's efficacy and more an example of Trump World abusing the levers of federal power."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.