From the Office of U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich:
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, sent a letter to the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) Secretary Burgum requesting a briefing from the Department’s Designated Ethics Official (DAO) regarding actions of Karen Budd-Falen, the Department’s Associate Deputy Secretary, that raise serious concerns about her compliance with federal ethics laws and standards.
“I am writing to express deep concern regarding reports that a senior official at the Department of the Interior (DOI or Department) may be involved in matters that present a conflict of interest,” Heinrich began in a letter to Burgum. “On April 29, 2026, you testified before the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources regarding the President’s 2027 Budget Request. Following the hearing, in questions for the record, I asked you about reports that Karen Budd-Falen, the Department’s Associate Deputy Secretary, failed to previously disclose critical information in her financial disclosure report and recently received a partial ethics waiver permitting her to work on matters that could benefit her family.”
According to The Washington Post, in an interview conducted with Sen. Lummis in December 2025 as part of a Congressional Western Caucus event, Ms. Budd-Falen appears to suggest that she has been involved in working on policy matters related to grazing – benefiting her immediate family.
Ms. Budd-Falen statements appear to have come months before she received a waiver from the Department. In late March, Politico reported that the Department issued Ms. Budd-Falen a section 208 waiver on March 11, 2026. Under the limited waiver, Ms. Budd-Falen is permitted to work on “certain particular matters of general applicability, including, but not limited to, particular matters of general applicability involving grazing leases or permits pending at the Department.”
This recent news comes on the heels of earlier reporting that Ms. Budd-Falen previously omitted disclosing critical information in her financial disclosure reports while serving in the first Trump Administration. In January 2026, The New York Times reported that Ms. Budd-Falen omitted disclosing her family’s financial interest associated with a lithium mine approved by DOI. “Ms. Budd-Falen’s statement and actions raise significant questions about her compliance with federal ethics laws and standards. Public officials have an obligation to put the public’s interest ahead of their own. Allegations of conflicts of interest should be handled with the extreme care and seriousness they deserve,” Heinrich continued, further requesting a briefing to the Committee from the Department’s Designated Ethics Official (DAO) to address his serious concerns.
Read the full letter here.