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Press Release

Gosar Leads Inquiry Into NOAA Advisor's Ethics Compliance

  • OI Subcommittee

Today, Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations Chairman Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) sent a letter to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries Senior Advisor Katie Westfall and U.S. Department of Commerce General Counsel and Designated Agency Ethics Official Leslie Kiernan, reviewing Westfall's potential ethics violations. In part, Gosar wrote:

"Prior to joining the Biden Administration’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries, a Department of Commerce agency, as a Senior Advisor focused on offshore wind, Katie Westfall spent seven years at the Environmental Defense Fund, where she most recently served as the Senior Director of Fisheries. During her tenure, Ms. Westfall worked on energy technology, sustainability, economic performance, and fishery resilience. Her previous experience also includes work with the environmental advocacy groups Save the Wave Coalition and WILDCOAST, where Westfall 'led domestic and international conservation campaigns.'

"The House Committee on Natural Resources is concerned with Ms. Westfall’s compliance with ethical obligations given Ms. Westfall’s prior work on matters she now handles in an official U.S. government capacity."

Read the full letter here.