Three Democratic U.S. senators are demanding the Trump Administration investigate reports that Undersecretary of Agriculture for Natural Resources and Environment Michael Boren allegedly pushed officials for additional resources to fight a small wildfire near his Idaho ranch this summer.
U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon; Amy Klobuchar, D-Minnesota; and Martin Heinrich, D-New Mexico, requested a full investigation into Boren’s involvement and influence in the Cabin Creek Fire in a letter they sent to U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins.
“Mr. Boren’s actions constitute potentially a misuse of taxpayer funds and put American families at further risk by diverting scarce resources from high-priority wildfires threatening communities elsewhere in the region and country,” the senators wrote. “We request a full investigation into the nature and extent of Boren’s involvement in response to the Cabin Creek Fire and a detailed accounting of the safeguards the agency has implemented or plans to implement to prevent political interference and conflicts of interest in wildfire response.”
“Western states are already facing a shortage of firefighting personnel and resources as a direct result of the Trump administration’s staffing and funding cuts,” the Democrats wrote in a press release issued Friday. “During this record setting fire season, fires of much larger size threatening American lives and homes have not received even a fraction of the same commitment of resources.”
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a nonprofit legal watchdog group, has also called for an investigation into the allegations and filed a complaint with the Agriculture Department’s Office of Inspector General, according to an Aug. 17 press release.
“The Inspector General must investigate whether Undersecretary Boren risked public safety to protect his property,” said CREW President Donald K. Sherman in the release. “Not only are Boren’s priorities in doubt, but his actions raise questions about his ‘scant’ qualifications for his role. His reported actions could be the result of incompetence, deliberate malfeasance or both. Regardless, they are inexcusable.”
Boren is a founder of Clearwater Analytics, a Boise-based financial technology company.
Boren has clashed with the federal government before his appointment and been involved with multiple lawsuits related to a private airstrip he owns near Stanley.
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