The Trump administration appeared to ignore the advice of federal experts at the Interior Department when it rejected a proposal by two American Indian tribes to build a casino in Connecticut, Politico reported Sunday.

Documents disclosed under the Freedom of Information Act and cited by the news outlet show that career staffers at the department were circulating approval letters for the project just two days before political appointees rejected the casino proposal by the Mohegan and Mashantucket Pequot tribes.

The documents do not detail the Interior Department's internal deliberations on the plan, however.

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The move raises questions about whether the Trump administration caved to intense lobbying efforts by MGM Resorts International, Politico reported.

MGM, a major player in the gambling industry, has plans to build its own casino roughly a dozen miles away from the site of the proposed Indian casino, and aggressively lobbied against the project, the news outlet noted.

The Interior Department's inspector general (IG) is examining the agency's handling of the tribes' casino proposal, it added.

The tribes have also filed a lawsuit alleging that Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke Ryan Keith ZinkeTrump extends Florida offshore drilling pause, expands it to Georgia, South Carolina Conspicuous by their absence from the Republican Convention Trump flails as audience dwindles and ratings plummet MORE violated the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act by failing to approve or decline the casino application in a timely manner.

Spokespeople for the Interior Department did not return Politico's requests for comment.

Andrew Doba, a spokesman the company formed by the tribes to operate the proposed casino, told the news outlet that something seemed amiss with the department's decision.

"We are grateful there's an IG investigation into this issue because since last fall, none of the department's actions have passed the smell test," he said. "Something clearly happened to pollute the process, which should be problematic for an administration that promised to drain the swamp."

The two tribes already operate two other casinos on their reservations. The proposed third casino would have been built on nonreservation land.