David Longly Bernhardt (born August 17, 1969) is an American lawyer who served as the 53rd United States secretary of the interior from 2019 to 2021 in the administration of Donald Trump.

Bernhardt was active in Colorado politics from the age of sixteen, when he made his case to the Rifle City Council not to levy taxes on arcade games at a teen center he was starting in his hometown.

[14] President George W. Bush nominated Bernhardt to serve as Solicitor of the Department of the Interior in November 2005, subject to Senate confirmation.

[11] Bernhardt's clients included Westlands Water District, Halliburton, Cobalt International Energy, Samson Resources, and the Independent Petroleum Association of America.

[17] Through Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, Bernhardt represented entities such as the proposed Rosemont Copper open pit mine in Arizona.

[22] While remaining a lawyer at Brownstein Hyatt Farber and Schreck, after November 2016 Bernhardt was briefly in charge of the Interior Department transition team for President Donald Trump.

[5][14][1][24] The role made Bernhardt the "top deputy to Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke and COO of the federal lands and energy agency".

[2] The appointment was praised by Zinke,[11][5] Republican members of Congress,[18][12] and former-interior secretary Dirk Kempthorne,[1] as well as Outdoor Recreation Industry Roundtable, Ducks Unlimited, and the Boone and Crocket Club.

[25] His nomination was strongly opposed by conservationists,[18][1][21] fishing groups,[18][21] and California Democrats,[21] who cited his history of representing and lobbying on behalf of oil companies and agricultural interests[1] as well as conflict-of-interest concerns arising from his firm's work on regulation issues with the DOI.

[13] In August 2020, the Interior Department's inspector general released a report concluding that the agency had withheld sensitive public documents related to Bernhardt prior to his Senate confirmation and that this action did not violate any legal or ethical standards.

[33][34] The GAO report concluded that the Interior Department moved funds between accounts without authorization from Congress in violation of the Antideficiency Act and federal appropriations law.

[38] Bernhardt on August 17, 2020, announced plans for an oil and gas leasing program in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, clearing the way for drilling in the remote Alaskan area.

[39] On August 20, 2020, Bernhardt designated the site of the 1908 Springfield Race Riot for inclusion in the National Park Service's African American Civil Rights Network.

[41] After leaving the Department of the Interior, Bernhardt rejoined his former law firm Brownstein Hyatt Farber Shreck as a senior counsel.