Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson's email about a HUD employee being hired for a new job sparked criticism from House Democrats and good governance groups, | Shannon Finney/Getty Images Energy & Environment Interior accuses Ben Carson of sending 'false information' about watchdog

The Interior Department on Thursday disavowed any attempt to name a political appointee to head the office investigating Secretary Ryan Zinke, despite a claim by Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson that the move was underway.

The Interior statement disputes an email Friday in which Carson had said Suzanne Tufts, a HUD official and Republican operative with no ethics review experience on her resume, was heading to Interior to become its acting inspector general. That would have placed her in charge of several investigations into Zinke's travels, political activities and relations with industry groups.


“HUD sent out an email that had false information in it,” Interior spokeswoman Heather Swift said in an email. “Ms. Tufts is not employed by the Department and no decision was ever made to move her to Interior."

Swift said the White House had referred Tufts to the Interior Department as a potential candidate for a position in the inspector general’s office, but "[at] the end of the day, she was not offered a job at Interior."

Swift's statement did not explain how seriously Interior had considered Tufts for the position, whether Zinke had been prepared to overlook her lack of ethics experience, and whether the department's decision not to hire her was influenced by the outcry from congressional Democrats and government watchdog groups.

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Democratic lawmakers said they still want an explanation about what Carson and Zinke were up to.

“This administration can’t stop embarrassing itself or keep its story straight for five minutes,” said Arizona Rep. Raúl Grijalva, the top Democrat on the House Natural Resources Committee.

“If the Interior Department’s explanation is that Secretary Carson doesn’t know what his own staff are doing, they should explain whether Ms. Tufts is needed at HUD or not," Grijalva added. "What is her job there? If they’re trying to shift blame for their latest scandal and backtrack while there’s still time, they should just say so. Either way, nobody is buying this explanation and we’re not going to stop pressing for answers.”

Spokespeople for the White House and HUD did not immediately reply to questions. Swift’s statement is the first detailed information on Tufts the administration has offered since Carson’s email became public this week following reports in POLITICO and other outlets.

House Democrats and good-governance groups said Tufts had neither the independence nor experience to carry through on the open ethics investigations into Zinke, including a probe of his possible links with Halliburton Chairman Dave Lesar in a Montana land deal involving Zinke’s wife. The IG’s office is also investigating allegations that he abused official Interior travel policy and that he bowed to political pressure in blocking American Indian tribes from opening a casino.

IG directors must be nominated by the president and then confirmed by the Senate, according to the Inspector General Act of 1978. The Interior IG office has not had a permanent leader since its former director stepped down in 2009.

Mary Kendall, the current Interior deputy inspector general, continues to work at the office, Swift said.

The IG director is supposed to be a nonpartisan position and nominees typically come from the ranks of career staff.

Zinke interviewed at least three people for the job in May 2017, according to his official calendars. E&E News first reported the interviews.

