Rep. Rob Bishop quiet amid talk he's up for top spot at Department of Interior

U.S. Rep. Rob Bishop isn’t saying much. Plenty of media outlets, however, are speculating about the Brigham City Republican’s status as potential nominee to run the U.S. Department of the Interior, which manages a large chunk of the federal lands spread across the country. Notably, Bloomberg said last week that officials in the administration of President Donald Trump ”have intensified their focus” on Bishop and David Bernhardt, the acting secretary, as possible successors to Ryan Zinke, who stepped down as secretary earlier this month. Still, Bishop — serving his ninth and what he says would be his final term as U.S. House member — didn’t offer a comment for this article. And the lawmaker, who represents Weber County, northern Davis County and eight other northern or northeastern Utah counties, danced around questions put to him by reporters in Washington, D.C. “I don’t know,” he told Bloomberg when asked if debate was intensifying over the Interior post. “If it is, I am not aware of it.” Indeed, KPCW, the Park City-based public radio station, quoted Bishop in a report Monday as saying he thought Bernhardt would be the best choice for the post. Bishop, chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee before Democrats took control of the House following last November’s elections, counts public land issues as a priority. Nominating Bernhardt “would be a wise move on the part of the president because Mr. Bernhardt understands that agency probably as well as any human being alive,” Bishop told KPCW, without addressing his own prospects. “And, he is a very good dedicated civil servant that sees things clearly and understands how to get things accomplished.”...MORE