Douglas Domenech

Douglas William Domenech is an American government official who served as the Assistant United States Secretary of the Interior for Insular Areas in the Trump administration from 2017 to 2021.[1] He is a former a George W. Bush administration political appointee who served in roles of Deputy Chief of Staff of the United States Department of the Interior, and Senior Advisor to the Secretary of the Interior, as well as held a position on the White House Working Group on the Political Status of Puerto Rico.

Douglas Domenech
United States Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Insular Areas
In office September 18, 2017[1] – January 20, 2021
President	Donald Trump
Preceded by	Esther Kia'aina
8th Virginia Secretary of Natural Resources
In office January 16, 2010 – January 11, 2014
Governor	Bob McDonnell
Preceded by	Preston Bryant
Succeeded by	Molly Joseph Ward
Personal details
Born	Douglas William Domenech August 5, 1955 Georgia, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Jeanne Marie Schram
Children	Ben Domenech
Education	Virginia Tech (BS)
Signature

A probe by the Interior Department's Inspector General concluded that Domenech had in 2017 misused his office for personal gain by getting the EPA to hire his son-in-law.[2] Investigators also said that Domenech had used his office to promote another family member's business.[2]

Early life and education

Born August 5, 1955, in Georgia, Douglas W. Domenech grew up in a military family of Puerto Rican descent and lived in Panama, the Dominican Republic, and the family's native island of Puerto Rico as a child. His father, John Domenech, served in the Army for 30 years and retired as a colonel. Domenech graduated from Antilles High School in Fort Buchanan, Puerto Rico, in 1973 and earned a B.S. in forestry and wildlife management at Virginia Tech in 1978. He is the father of blogger and columnist Ben Domenech, who is married to Meghan McCain, a daughter of the late Senator John McCain.

Career

Doug Domenech served in the George W. Bush administration in the Department of the Interior as White House Liaison and as Deputy Chief of Staff.[3]

From 2010 to 2014, Domenech served as Governor Bob McDonnell's Secretary of Natural Resources of the Commonwealth of Virginia,[4] making him the first Hispanic and Puerto Rican person to be appointed to McDonnell's cabinet. Domenech previously worked for the Forest Resources Association.[5]

From March 2015, Domenech was director of the Texas Public Policy Foundation's Fueling Freedom Project, which was a project to fight the Environmental Protection Agency's Clean Power Plan.[3]

Domenech is the Interior Secretary's representative on the Advisory Committee of the Conservation Trust of Puerto Rico.[6]

Controversy

On April 23, 2019, The Washington Post reported that Domenech was one of six officials being investigated for ethics violations by the Interior Department's Office of Inspector General. Domenech was one of six political appointees of the Trump administration at the Interior Department under investigation for having "violated federal ethics rules by engaging with their former employers or clients on department-related business." [7] In 2017 Trump had signed an executive order requiring appointees to recuse themselves for two years on any matters involving their former employers and clients.[8] According to his calendar, on April 6, 2017, Domenech had two meetings with his former employer, the Texas Public Policy Foundation,[9] while the think tank was also a party to lawsuits against the Interior Department.[10] Six months later, one of the lawsuits was settled by the government.[11]

References

1. "Assistant Secretary for Insular Areas". U.S. Department of the Interior. Retrieved January 2, 2018.
2. "Probe: Top US official misused office to get son-in-law job". AP NEWS. 2020-05-29. Retrieved 2020-05-29.
3. "Doug Domenech joins TPPF as Director of Fueling Freedom Project". www.texaspolicy.com. Retrieved June 25, 2018.
4. Whitley, Tyler (7 January 2010). "McDonnell announces three more Cabinet choices". Richmond Times-Dispatch. Retrieved April 21, 2017.
5. "Doug Domenech". Ballotpedia. Retrieved September 27, 2017.
6. "Conservation Trust of Puerto Rico » Blog Archive » Governance". Fideicomiso.org. Retrieved September 15, 2017.
7. Eilperin, Juliet; Grandoni, Dino (April 23, 2019). "Six Trump Interior appointees are being investigated for possible ethical misconduct". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 8, 2019.
8. "Executive Order: Ethics Commitments by Executive Branch Appointees". The White House. Retrieved May 7, 2019.
9. "Douglas Domenech" (PDF). Calendar March – October 2017 (redacted). U.S. Department of the Interior. April 6, 2017. Retrieved May 8, 2019.
10. "TPPF files suit over federal regulation of Bone Cave Harvestman arachnid". Texas Public Policy Foundation. Retrieved May 7, 2019.
11. "Texas Parties Win in Red River Private Property Rights Lawsuit". Texas Public Policy Foundation. Retrieved May 7, 2019.