Leadership

The Honorable David Bernhardt

Executive Vice President & Chair, Center For American Freedom

David Bernhardt grew up outside of a small western rural community, Rifle, Colorado, and serves as the Executive Vice President & Chair, Center For American Freedom at AFPI. Bernhardt previously served as the 53rd Secretary of the Department of the Interior, where he furthered conservation stewardship, expanded opportunities for access to hunting and fishing on public lands, drove common-sense regulatory change, and enhanced our Nation’s energy independence. Bernhardt also led the effort to enact the Great American Outdoors Act, which established the most consequential dedicated funding for maintaining critical facilities and infrastructure at our national parks, wildlife refuges, and recreational facilities in history. He also developed and implemented sweeping regulatory changes that were estimated to reduce regulatory burdens by more than $5 billion.  Bernhardt is active in numerous charitable and business endeavors, practices administrative law, and enjoys the spectacular outdoors with his spouse, Gena Rae Bernhardt, their two teenagers, and two yellow Labrador Retrievers.

Written by

Op-Ed | Center for Energy & Environment

Biden’s plan to help evict energy revolution from federal land

The Honorable David Bernhardt , Oliver McPherson-Smith, Ph.D August 14, 2023
Op-Ed | Center for Energy & Environment

Joe Biden’s Bureaucratic Land Grab

The Honorable David Bernhardt August 7, 2023
Statement | Center for American Freedom

STATEMENT: AFPI on the Supreme Court’s Decision Rejecting the Environmental Protection Agency’s Overreach

The Honorable David Bernhardt , Ambassador Carla Sands May 25, 2023
Op-Ed | Center for American Freedom

Op-Ed: The Deep State Is All Too Real

The Honorable David Bernhardt May 9, 2023
Statement | Center for American Freedom

STATEMENT: David Bernhardt on the United States Senate’s Permitting Reform Package

The Honorable David Bernhardt May 5, 2023
Commentary | Center for American Freedom

AFPI Statement on the Biden Administration Final NEPA Rule that Will Delay Infrastructure, Increase Energy Costs, and Cement a Legacy of Build Back Never

The Honorable David Bernhardt April 19, 2022
Commentary | Center for American Freedom

The Latest Strategic Petroleum Reserve Release Demonstrates the “Consequence and Peril” of President Biden’s War on Fossil Fuels

The Honorable David Bernhardt April 1, 2022
Commentary | Center for American Freedom

Biden is to blame for rising gas prices. America needs to expand energy production.

The Honorable David Bernhardt March 29, 2022
News | Center for American Freedom

Some in Congress Want Bookkeepers and Secretaries to Be Personally Liable for Oil Companies’ Royalty Payments

The Honorable David Bernhardt September 2, 2021
Policy | Center for American Freedom

Center for American Freedom Overview

The Honorable David Bernhardt , James Sherk September 1, 2021

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