Tyler Hassen, a former Texas oil executive from Elon Musk’s government efficiency team who was given sweeping powers to overhaul the Department of the Interior, is leaving the agency, he confirmed on Friday.
A former member of Mr. Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, Mr. Hassen initially came to the Interior Department as an assistant secretary for policy, management and budget. The Associated Press reported that was changed in April to “principal deputy assistant secretary,” a position that, unlike assistant secretary, does not require Senate confirmation.
According to a secretarial order that Mr. Burgum wrote, Mr. Hassen was given authority to take “all necessary actions” to carry out “consolidation, unification and optimization” at the department and its bureaus. That move drew criticism from many Democrats and environmental activists, who said Mr. Burgum had turned over too much authority to Mr. Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency.
The decision demonstrated a “willingness to freely hand over the keys to the Department to a DOGE representative,” Senator Martin Heinrich, Democrat of New Mexico, wrote in a letter to Mr. Burgum. “Delegating sweeping authorities and responsibilities to a non-Senate-confirmed person in violation of the Vacancies Reform Act is baffling and extremely troubling,” he wrote.
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