In what appear to be his most extensive comments yet on his possible appointment as Trump’s Secretary of Interior, former Colorado Congressman Bob Beauprez told KOA 850-AM listeners this morning why he’d be a good fit for the job.
“This is where most of the federal land is,” Beauprez observed a day after ColoradoPolitics.com first reported that he was being considered for the Interior job. “And I think, to get someone in that role who understands water, natural resources, land, wildlife, mixed-use of those lands and resources, I think it’s very important. So, I’ve long thought that it might be a job that I would very much enjoy. And I think my life as a rancher/farmer would fit the job very well.”
Beauprez, who lost his second gubernatorial race in Colorado in 2014, told hosts Steffan Tubbs and April Zesbaugh that building pipelines like the Dakota Access project, is “something that has to happen,” but, as Interior Secretary, he’d like to find a compromise that “everybody can live with.”
“I know that the Indan tribes have had some concerns about their sacred lands,” said Beauprez. “And those, I think, are legitimate concerns. The important thing, I think, in a job like that is to try to find a good compromise that everybody can live with. But I’ve long thought that we needed to improve – and I’m not alone on this. We need to improve the transportation infrastructure for our oil and gas reserves, as well. So, building pipelines is something that has to happen. And in the West, where we’ve got so much federal land, that land is going to be part the mix. No doubt about it.”
Beauprez said there “has been some limited communication between myself and some of the folks that are part of the transition process.”
He said on air that he’s spoken with people “very close” to both Trump and David Longley Bernhardt, who’s apparently from Colorado and part of the Trump transition team.
Beauprez said his wife, who he referred to as his “biggest cheerleader” is supportive of his joining the Trump Administration.